Alexander Zverev openly admits that his main rival was the better tennis player. But there is one thing that sets the new number one apart from his predecessor.
After climbing to the top of the world tennis rankings, Alexander Zverev has highlighted his excellent fitness as the key factor behind the best year of his career. “I’d be an idiot to sit here and say I was as good as Jannik Sinner. I wasn’t. I was the second-best player because Carlos Alcaraz was injured and couldn’t play,” said Zverev after his round of 16 victory at the ATP tournament in Vienna. But: “Fitness is a big part of the sport.”
During his four-week pre-season training in December, he “does about five to six hours of fitness training a day and plays an hour of tennis”, reported the 29-year-old after securing the number one spot in the rankings from Monday following a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Tallon Griekspoor. “So the focus is much more on fitness, so that I stay fit and avoid injuries. So that in the fifth set I feel just as fit as I did in the first.”
Zverev on Sinner: “When he was fit, he was the best tennis player in the world”
His main rivals, Sinner and Alcaraz – who had shared all four Grand Slam titles between them last year – had both been sidelined for long periods this season due to injuries, thus clearing the way for the Hamburg native to reach the top. He admitted: “I lost to Jannik four or five times in a row, and when he was fit, he was the best tennis player in the world, no question about it,” Zverev said: “But I think I’ve had the best season.”
Up until the Wimbledon tournament, he had “absolutely no idea how to beat him”, Zverev said of the Italian. After that, by his own account, he’d got an idea. However, a further clash and a victory over Sinner didn’t materialise due to the latter’s withdrawal, which Zverev believes confirms his view: “Fitness and health are part of tennis. It’s as simple as that.”