Up until Roland Garros this year, Alexander Zverev was the greatest player never to have won a Grand Slam title.
The German had spent years near the top of the rankings and had suffered several near-misses at majors, with runner-up finishes at the 2020 US Open, the 2024 French Open and the 2025 Australian Open. Everything changed for Zverev in Paris this year, when he beat Flavio Cobolli in the final of the clay-court major to capture his first Grand Slam crown.
Like London buses, two came along at once for Zverev, who then took advantage of a wide-open draw at Flushing Meadows to win the US Open. Many thought the 29-year-old would never get his hands on a major trophy, and he thought that himself last season.
Alexander Zverev reacts to his Grand Slam triumphs this year
Speaking to LaverCup.com about his Grand Slam victories in 2026, Zverev said: “The pressure for me was in Paris. I felt a lot of pressure, a lot of stress. In New York, I was able to enjoy it more. I was loving being on centre court, loving being out there on the big stage in the final, whereas in Paris, I didn’t enjoy it so much.
“I just wanted to get the job done because I’d never won one. It was always a question mark if I was ever going to win one. I feel like I freed myself a little bit in Paris. New York was even better. But I still want to keep my form.
Discuss: Alexander Zverev will finish his career with _ Grand Slam titles?
He’s just won his second at the US Open!
“I still want to keep going, to appreciate the form that I’m in, because I still have big goals ahead of me. I still have things that I really want to achieve. At some point, the self-belief wasn’t quite there anymore. I was struggling to believe that I was ever going to win one.
“Especially last year, after losing to Jannik [Sinner] in the final in Australia. That was difficult. But in sports, things can change very quickly — for the negative, but also for the positive. And for me, they obviously have changed, and I’m enjoying the stage right now.”
Alexander Zverev reacts to forgetting the score in the US Open final
Given that he was the favourite after Carlos Alcaraz’s quarterfinal defeat, Zverev’s second major victory at the US Open didn’t come as a surprise to many, but it did to him. After winning match point in the final against Ben Shelton, Zverev didn’t react at all and seemed to be preparing for the next point that didn’t exist.
“I forgot the score,” he explained. “I knew I was a break up, but I thought it was 4-1. I thought, ‘I’m going to hold serve, and then I’ll probably get a little bit nervous’, but suddenly the match was over. I was very happy about it. I was just in that zone, just playing tennis, just focusing on every single shot.
“That definitely helped me, just staying in the moment and not thinking about the big picture. In the end, it was a funny and weird moment. In a way, it helped me.”
Zverev is now one Grand Slam title away from matching the major tallies of both Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka.
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