Alexander Zverev is back in action at this week’s ATP 500 in Munich.
Alexander Zverev is ready to follow in Carlos Alcaraz’s footsteps after the Spaniard turned things around in Monte-Carlo. Alcaraz struggled for form since winning the Rotterdam Open in February and suffered a disappointing first-round exit in Miami. But he bounced back to lift his 18th career title in Monaco on Sunday.
Zverev has also been going through a rough patch since reaching the Australian Open final. The world No. 3 is now 6-6 in matches from February onwards and lost his opening match at the Monte-Carlo Masters last week. And he believes he can return to winning ways like Alcaraz.
The German started the year by reaching his third Grand Slam final Down Under, losing to Jannik Sinner. Since then, Zverev has failed to surpass the quarter-final at any tournament.
The world No. 3 was keen to turn things around on the clay and came into last week’s Monte-Carlo Masters suggesting it had been a weird start to the season, with top players like himself and Alcaraz struggling to go deep at the biggest events.
Zverev insisted that things would change once he started winning. But he suffered another opening-round defeat at a Masters 1000 event and was dumped out by Matteo Berrettini 2-6 6-3 7-5.
Alcaraz left him behind, winning five matches in a row to be crowned the champion in Monaco. Since watching the Spaniard reach the final, Zverev is now desperate to follow the Spaniard and find some consistency.
“Alcaraz is now in the final of Monte Carlo. That’s a step forward for him. At the beginning of the year, you know who your competitors are,” Zverev said ahead of his home tournament in Munich this week.
“We’ve lost a lot since Australia, all of us. And yes, I think Carlos is out of his phase now, I think.
“I think I will get out of my phase soon too. I feel like I’m starting to play better and better. I think I need to win one or two close matches.
“And I still have faith in myself. I still have faith in myself that I will start playing really good tennis by the time Paris comes around and that Paris will still be the main focus.”
Zverev will hope to get his hands on his first Grand Slam trophy at the French Open after blowing a two-set-to-one lead against Alcaraz in last year’s final.
But he will need to find some momentum if he wants to give himself the best possible chance in Paris.
The 27-year-old added: “Of course I haven’t played particularly well. I lost to a lot of guys that I should have beaten.
“I still believe I can play well on the big stage. I mean, I played in the Australian Open final three months ago. That said, I haven’t forgotten how to do it.
“But yes, the last few weeks have been a bit more difficult, but I’m still very confident that I will play well now and hopefully in the next few weeks.”
Zverev has another chance to improve at this week’s ATP 500 in Munich, where he is a two-time former champion.