Alexander Zverev said it was too soon to look for the positives in his U.S. Open campaign as the devastated German struggled to come to terms with Sunday’s five-set defeat to Dominic Thiem in the Flushing Meadows final. After winning the opening two sets in his first Grand Slam final, the 23-year-old looked set for victory until second seed Thiem fought back, taking the title in a tiebreak as an exhausted Zverev struggled through a thigh cramp that neutralized his powerful serve.
“I was super close to being a Grand Slam champion. I was a few games away, maybe a few points away,” he told reporters. “I don’t think it’s my last chance. I do believe that I will be a Grand Slam champion at some point.”
The fifth seed said the turning point in the four-hour thriller came when Thiem broke his serve for the first time in the third set, a break which reversed the momentum of the match.
“He started playing much better and I started playing much
worse,” said Zverev, who also lost to Thiem in the Australian Open semi-final earlier this year.
Asked if he could point to any positives from his time at Flushing Meadows, he was blunt: “That question is probably two, three days too early to ask right now.”
During the on-court trophy presentation Zverev tearfully thanked his parents, whom he said had both contracted the novel coronavirus.
{{/usCountry}}During the on-court trophy presentation Zverev tearfully thanked his parents, whom he said had both contracted the novel coronavirus.
{{/usCountry}}“Unfortunately my dad and my mother got tested positive before the tournament and they couldn’t have gone with me. I miss them,” he said, pausing to compose himself.
“I’m sure they’re sitting at home, even though I lost they’re pretty proud.”
He later told reporters he was so lost in the moment that he could not recall what he had said.
“Losing 7-6 in the fifth after being two sets to love and a break up is not easy,” he said. “At the speech, I mean, I got emotional. I couldn’t put two words together.
“Yeah, it was a difficult moment for me.”