French Open
Zverev against rested Ruud: “Must play best tennis”
Reaching the semifinals of the French Open for the fourth time in a row: Alexander Zverev. Photo
© Jean-François Badias/AP/dpa
After the successful but not very glamorous quarter-final victory, the German tennis star is already looking ahead to the next match. He wants to finally reach the final in Paris. In a TV interview, he is annoyed.
Compared to his two previous five-set thrillers, the quarterfinal victory at the French Open was a blessing for Alexander Zverev. “It was very important to win in three sets again and not to play for four and a half hours. With a view to the semi-finals, it is simply better that I am physically at 100 percent,” said the German tennis star after the 6:4, 7:6 (7:5), 6:4 against the Australian outsider Alex De Minaur.
His semifinal opponent Casper Ruud will be much more rested on Court Philippe Chatrier on Friday. The Norwegian, who benefited from defending champion Novak Djokovic’s injury-related quarterfinal withdrawal, has three days off. Zverev does not believe that this will necessarily put him at a disadvantage: “Physically, I feel good. I have no physical worries. I hope it stays that way and I can play a good match.”
Zverev, who is in the semifinals of the Grand Slam tournament on clay for the fourth time in a row but has so far always missed the final, said of the duel with tactician Ruud: “I think I have to play my best tennis to have a chance.”
When it came to Ruud, Zverev had practically left the reporter in a Eurosport interview. The Hamburg native was asked why the semi-final against the Norwegian would not be lost in three sets this time, unlike last year. “I don’t know if it will be a different result. We’ll see on Friday,” Zverev replied, visibly annoyed. When asked how he assessed the match, he said: “Those were three questions.” He then broke off the interview.