Zverev: "At this moment, he is probably the best in the world, but not with Alcaraz and Sinner healthy"

Andrés Tomás Rico - 14 Sep 2026 | 03:51
ATP Alexander Zverev US Open 2026 Rueda de prensa

The newly crowned US Open champion stated that "if everyone is healthy, I think Sinner is still ahead."

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Zverev: "At this moment, he is probably the best in the world, but not with Alcaraz and Sinner healthy." Photo: Getty Images

Alexander Zverev is now a true US Open champion. The German now has two Grand Slams after years of waiting, and he achieved it in a match where he dominated for the most part against a Ben Shelton, who was nervous and somewhat aggressive, and could not end the 23-year drought of American tennis without a major win. Meanwhile, the German takes another step in his historic career and takes advantage of the opportunities that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are leaving him.

In fact, in the press conference following his victory, he spoke about his current state of form and whether he considers himself better than Alcaraz and Sinner at this moment. He also confessed what happened at the moment of victory when he didn't realize he had won.

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Zverev considers himself, at this moment, the best tennis player in the world

"I don’t know how to respond to that. You have to take everything into account. With Jannik Sinner injured and Carlos Alcaraz coming back from an injury after 4 months… at this moment, right now, probably yes. Both healthy and both at the top of their game, maybe not. But if we are talking right now with Jannik injured and Carlos coming back from an injury, maybe. Four or five months ago when both were healthy, I wasn’t. I was losing to Jannik all the time. If everyone is healthy, I think Jannik is still ahead. It’s as simple as that."

Zverev explained why he didn’t realize he had won the match

"At that moment, I was very focused on the match. I didn't hear any noise. It was like I was in some kind of tunnel where I couldn’t hear anything at all. And also, of course, when the crowd is making a lot of noise, it's impossible to hear the chair umpire. So I didn’t hear him say 'game' or that he said 'match'. But at the end of the day, I think I just forgot the score. There's not much more to say. I thought it was 5-1 instead of 6-2."

Zverev boasts about his current moment

"I think I’m up there, without a doubt, because I’ve said it before: I don't think I'm the most talented in any way. I don’t think I have a God-given talent like some other players do. I believe that most of my tennis comes from hard work, from many hours on the court, from many hours in the gym, and from a lot of time training physically. That’s how I play tennis."

"But I think Shelton has a lot of talent, although he is also very close to hard work. You see him and his father constantly after matches, before matches, working on different aspects, and every year he keeps improving something. I just played against him today. I think this was the best backhand I’ve seen him produce against me, the most consistent and with more power. He had it all. I remember a couple of years ago when I played against him for the first time, he was always dangerous, he always had that serve and he always had that forehand, but if you managed to hit him three or four balls in a row from the back, he would end up making an error. Today that didn't happen at all."

Six years later, Zverev gets revenge for the 2020 final

"I think the scars from the 2020 final faded somewhat after I won in Paris. I said it at Wimbledon. Although I lost the final, I enjoyed the match, I enjoyed being in a Grand Slam final, I enjoyed playing on the center court, I enjoyed playing in front of an incredible crowd, in front of some celebrities and all that goes with those moments. I enjoyed doing that."

"On the other hand, before winning in Paris, I felt a lot of pressure all the time, because there was always that question in my head: 'Will I ever win a Grand Slam?' Now what I feel is more of a sense of enjoyment playing these kinds of finals," concluded Alexander Zverev, who is now enjoying himself as the champion of the US Open.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Zverev: "En este momento, probablemente sí que sea el mejor del mundo, pero con Alcaraz y Sinner sanos no"