Zverev after his first major success
He faces a Herculean task
June 8, 2026 – 12:14 p.mReading time: 3 minutes
After his first Grand Slam triumph, Alexander Zverev is already dreaming of further titles. However, the next hurdle is extremely high.
His emotional debut title on the Grand Slam stage left Alexander Zverev wanting more. “I hope that something has broken mentally for me too. It’s something special to be sitting here with a trophy like that,” said the German tennis star at the press conference after his French Open triumph: “Of course I want to win a few more of them.”
The next chance to do this is at the Wimbledon grass classic, which starts in three weeks. Since the great pressure for the title is gone thanks to the 6:1, 4:6, 6:4, 6:7 (5:7), 6:1 final win on Sunday in Paris against the Italian Flavio Cobolli, Zverev sees himself even better prepared for the duels with the exceptional talents Jannik Sinner (Italy) and Carlos Alcaraz (Spain).
Zverev is fulfilled and relieved
“If I’m in the final now, I’ll know that even if I lose the final, I’m a Grand Slam champion,” said the 29-year-old. This is a “fulfillment” for him, but also a “relief”. That gives him “some freedom” and “a little more peace.” “If I had lost this fight too, my self-confidence would have dropped significantly,” said the Hamburg resident: “But now that I’ve won, I have the feeling that I can do it again.”
Boris Becker also has this feeling. Because of his three previous final defeats at Grand Slam events, Zverev “felt like a loser, a loser,” the three-time Wimbledon winner told Eurosport: “He has now found a new page in his life’s work.”
Becker said he had “shown it to everyone”, “he is a Grand Slam champion, he is now in a very special club – and that feels damn good”. Becker said he has “greatest admiration” for the fact that 30 years after his own triumph at the Australian Open, a German man was able to celebrate a Grand Slam victory again.
However, there is still a big question mark about the fact that Zverev can achieve his next Grand Slam success at the prestigious tournament on London’s Church Road in three weeks. In contrast to the French Open, which is played on clay courts – Zverev’s best surface – grass courts await him at Wimbledon. And the German has always had the most problems on green surfaces.