This is the first time we’ve seen you since the Australian Open. You were quite harsh on yourself after that final match when you said you weren’t good enough. Now that you’ve had a little bit of time to process what you achieved in Melbourne, how do you reflect on putting yourself in that position again?
ZVEREV: I was mentally extremely down and so I was very disappointed with the final and how [it] went. Now looking back at it, I regret what I said. I regret saying that after Grand Slam final that I’m maybe not good enough. Because at the end of the day, the final was not good enough. He was much, much better than me. Jannik fully deserved to win, and he was the much better player than me.
But you still mentally have to keep believing. You still mentally have to believe that you can win Grand Slams and you can win at the biggest stage. And in that moment, I let my emotions take over and said not the right thing in a way for me and for my future. But I still believe that I can. And now a few weeks have passed, I still believe that I can and I will win a Grand Slam this year and hopefully in the next few years to come.
Did you allow yourself to go a few days without touching a racquet after returning home?
ZVEREV: I can’t. In that regard, I’m actually quite bad. I can’t take rest. Especially when I lose, I can’t sit still. I have to go and work out. I have to do something. I have to feel like I’m getting better because if I’m doing nothing, I feel like I’m not getting better. I took a flight home, got back on Tuesday evening, had stuff to do on Wednesday and on Thursday on I was practicing already.
The Golden Swing: you’re making debut appearances in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. Obviously have very strong pedigree on clay throughout your career, but still an interesting decision to switch from hard to clay twice in the first half of the season. What was the motivation behind this scheduling choice?
ZVEREV: Two things: the first, I’ve always seen and I’ve always heard great things about this swing, and I’ve always wanted to visit these countries.
The second: I changed racquets last year after Shanghai. I really want to play on clay with that racquet as soon as possible, just to see what it feels like, just to see what it gives me. It’s no secret my main goal, my main focus is Roland Garros, right? That’s the one I’m looking forward to. I want to win a Grand Slam. I want to do well at those events, so I want to get on clay as soon as possible so I find my rhythm on the surface.