Rafael Nadal's advice could help stop Carlos Alcaraz as rival puts it to good use
Alexander Zverev has taken on board some pearls of wisdom from Rafael Nadal as he aims to outshine Carlos Alcaraz in the ATP Tour rankings. The World No. 3 and Olympic gold medallist has experienced both highs and lows throughout his career, including a gut-wrenching first-round exit at Wimbledon this year that had him mulling over therapy.
Despite reaching the finals of three Grand Slams, including the 2020 US Open, the 2024 French Open and this year's Australian Open, where he was bested by ATP No. 1, Jannik Sinner, Zverev is still chasing his first major title. But, with advice from legendary 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal, he's tweaked his game ahead of the upcoming US Open.
In an interview with Mundo Deportivo, Zverev shared insights from his time with Toni Nadal - who is Rafael's uncle and long-time coach - and the Spanish maestro himself. He said: "It's funny because I spent a lot of time with Toni (Nadal, Rafael's uncle and coach) and Rafa.
"And the number one thing Rafa told me is the difference between me, Novak (Djokovic), Rafa, and Roger (Federer). Of course, they are much greater than I am, much better; I'm not even going to compare myself with them.
"But he said that they won many more matches playing badly. He said that when you're at your peak level, at the top of your game, it's very difficult to play and you can beat anyone, but I lose many matches when I play badly and he told me I have to find a way to win those ugly matches, sometimes you win by playing badly."
Nadal's sage advice seems to be doing wonders for Zverev, who has turned his fortunes around since his early Wimbledon exit and is now shining at the Canadian Open in Toronto, reports the Express. Zverev breezed past Adam Walton and Matteo Arnaldi in his initial matches, but faced a real test of character in his round of 16 bout with Francisco Cerundolo.
Cerundolo initially took a 3-1 lead in the first set, leaving Zverev visibly agitated and deep in heated discussion with his father and coach, Alexander Zverev Sr. However, the German ace managed to pull himself together, countering Cerundolo's strategy of hitting balls down the middle to limit angles, and snatched the first set 6-4.
Zverev then advanced to the quarter-finals after Cerundolo had to bow out in the second set with an abdominal strain. He's set to face Alexei Popyrin at midnight on Monday in a bid to secure a semi-final spot.
In other quarter-final news, Alex Michelsen will go head-to-head with Karen Khachanov, Andrey Rublev is up against Taylor Fritz, and Alex de Minaur will take on Ben Shelton. After the Canadian Open, Zverev will then turn his attention to this year's US Open, which kicks off on Sunday, August 24.
Zverev made it to the semi-finals of the Grand Slam last year before he was ultimately bested by Fritz in a five-set thriller, but his best effort at the event came in 2020. That year, Zverev made it to the grand final of the tournament courtesy of wins over Kevin Anderson, Brandon Nakashima, Adrian Mannarino, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Borna Coric and Pablo Carreno Busta.
And while he started strong in the final against Dominic Thiem, taking the first two sets 6-2 and 6-4, the Austrian was able to turn things around and win the last three to deny Zverev the first Grand Slam title of his career.
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