Alexander Zverev compared his evolution in tennis to Roger Federer, with the German hinting the pair’s temperaments mirror each other. Zverev, who is ranked third in the world, has been known for occasional outbursts in the past – something he’s tried to eliminate from his game.
Zverev came through a tense battle with Alexei Popyrin in the quarter-finals of the National Bank Open in Canada, sparking a candid reflection of how he’s evolved over the years. He spoke not only about his changes as a player, but also as a person, suggesting it has drawn parallels with Federer.
He said: “One is about taking responsibility of who you are as a person. Number one thing, I’ve said it before, but I’m a father now, so I want to be a good example there. Also, you know, I want to be remembered for my tennis. I want to be remembered for what I’ve achieved on the court, for what I’ve done on the tennis court.”
Zverev added: “It came with Roger as well. Roger used to have outbursts like crazy, and then he changed, he became Roger Federer, he became this perfection that we all know him as now. But it wasn’t always that case. But, yeah, something in the mind clicked and decided to, yeah, to be different on the court.”
Zverev became a father in 2021 and believes that’s helped him move on from the days of smashing rackets and heckling the umpires. What’s more, he also pointed towards the work he’s done with his self-named foundation as a reason for keeping his head screwed on.
The ATP Tour title winner continued: “Also for the good things I do outside the tennis court as well. Because I feel like there’s quite a lot of work that I do with my foundation, and with my family as well, which can be beneficial and helps people around the world. So I would much rather be known and remembered for that than the outbursts that I used to have, right? Yeah, that’s just something that at some point it just comes.”
The 28-year-old will be keen to continue his run with victory over Karen Khachanov in the semi-final later this week. Following the conclusion of the National Bank Open, it’s back over to the States for the Cincinnati Open, before Zverev’s latest crack at picking up a maiden Grand Slam title in this year’s US Open. The Olympic champion has lost three Slam finals, most recently in the Australian Open earlier this year against Jannik Sinner.