Zverev breaks down the 'Big Three' and reveals the toughest opponent of his career

Pedro de Pablos | 29 Jul 2026 | 22.45

Zverev breaks down the 'Big Three' and reveals the toughest opponent of his career. Source: Getty Images.

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Alexander Zverev is one of the standout names of 2026. This season, the German tennis player has taken a step forward and finally achieved his long-awaited Grand Slam at Roland Garros. Additionally, in a recent interview, he revealed his thoughts on who the toughest opponent he has faced is, as well as the differences between facing the 'Big Three,' Carlos Alcaraz, and Jannik Sinner.

In an interview with Knossi, Zverev stated, "The toughest opponent I have faced is Djokovic. In reality, I have had a good balance against Roger Federer, although I also lost many matches, and there were days when you couldn't defeat him. But overall, he played very fast, and I had the ability to play faster than him, which he didn't like, I knew that. I had a strategy against him that I knew worked. I have won more times against him than I have lost."

He also highlighted that "against Nadal, at the beginning of my career, he was physically too strong for me. I was too skinny, lacked physical strength. We always had very close matches, but initially, he always beat me because I would get tired. That suddenly changed when I was 23, 24. Since then, I have won against him 3 or 4 times in a row. Against Djokovic, we have always had very good matches, always in very good situations. He has beaten me more times, but he has beaten everyone more times."

Zverev prefers playing against Alcaraz rather than Sinner

Next came the million-dollar question between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, where 'Sascha' revealed that currently, he doesn't enjoy playing as much against the world number 1. "I really enjoyed playing against Sinner at the beginning of my career, and now, in the last 7 or 8 matches, I have lost. He has significantly improved his game, is very consistent, and doesn't give you anything for free. Now, you feel as though you are playing catch-up the whole time during the match."

His opinion differs greatly when it comes to his rivalry with Alcaraz, as the latter tends to offer more opportunities during a match. "I enjoy playing against Alcaraz a lot. Sometimes I lose, sometimes I win, but with him, the matches are always incredible. We always have incredible matches, tough battles, like this year in Australia, where we played for 5 hours and 30 minutes, and in the end, I lost, but it is very fun to play against him," he concluded.

Zverev reveals the nerves he felt in the Roland Garros final

Another key moment in the interview was when Zverev disclosed the nerves he experienced in the Roland Garros final, admitting that "for me, that day, until the moment I won, was not beautiful. I was under a lot of stress, I was very panicked. Throughout the tournament, I managed nerves well. Sinner was eliminated, Djokovic too, and I made it to the final. It was a pretty tough final day, I was very, very nervous. Additionally, I knew the final wasn't against Alcaraz or Sinner, it was against Flavio Cobolli, against a player I had to defeat."

With these words, he didn't mean to belittle the Italian, who is his friend, and he went on to say, "he is a good player, no doubt. He is an excellent guy, but I had to win that final. I am 29 years old; I don't know how many more chances I would have. Furthermore, so many years have passed... It was what was missing because I have won at every level in the tennis world. I have won the Olympic gold, ATP 250, ATP 500, Masters 1000... The only thing missing was the Grand Slam title. Now that I have it, I can relax a bit."

Olympic gold remains above a Grand Slam

However, no matter how many Grand Slams he may win, for Zverev, his Olympic gold will always be incomparable. "I have been waiting a long time to win a Grand Slam, and the Olympic gold came early in my career, but it was even more special for me. I don't know why, but the feeling was even more intense and stronger. You were in the Olympic village, living in a German home, the whole German home was excited... When I returned home, I realized what the Olympic gold meant to the entire nation."

"I can't explain it, but the feeling was completely different. I had never had that feeling in a tennis tournament," he concluded. Having achieved every goal he set at the beginning of his career, the German tennis player has unburdened himself from a load of stones and is playing at the highest level of his career, so it is possible that his list of accomplishments will continue to grow and his aspirations will become even greater.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Zverev desglosa al "Big Three" y desvela el rival más difícil de su carrera

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