Alexander Zverev says becoming a father has helped him manage his emotions better during matches and has stopped him from having outbursts.
The German world No.3 shared some insight into his mentality on the court after booking his place in the semi-finals of the Canadian Masters. Zverev ousted defending champion Alexi Popyrin 6-7(8), 6-4, 6-3. He is the second active player to reach the semi-finals or better at 75 ATP events after Novak Djokovic. Zverev has also won more Masters 1000 matches than any other player born after 1990.
Although his latest victory was a stern test, especially in the opener, where he failed to convert two set points before losing the tiebreaker. Then in the second set, he got broken when leading 4-3 but managed to bounce back.
“A few years ago, it would have been a broken racquet, for sure.” Zverev reflected on dealing with his frustration after losing the first set.
“But I don’t break racquets any more. The last time I broke a racquet was two, I think three and a half years ago. That was the last time I broke a racquet. I’m not planning on changing that.”
As for what has changed for the 28-year-old, which has enabled him to be more composed on the court, he links it to his desire to be a ‘good example’ on the court for his daughter, Mayla. Mayla was born in March 2021.
“I’m a father now, so I want to be a good example there,” he said.
“I want to be remembered for my tennis. I want to be remembered for what I’ve achieved on the court, for what I’ve done on the tennis court.
“Also, for the good things I do outside the tennis court as well. Because I feel like there’s quite a lot of work that I do with my foundation, and with my family as well, which can be beneficial and helps people around the world. So I would much rather be known and remembered for that than the outbursts that I used to have.”
Elaborating further, Zverev used Swiss tennis great Roger Federer as an example of another high-profile figure in the sport who used to lose their cool during the early stages of their career before becoming more composed.
“Roger used to have outbursts like crazy, and then he changed, he became Roger Federer, he became this perfection that we all know him as now.” He continued.
“But it wasn’t always that case. Something in the mind clicked and decided to be different on the court.”
Zverev will next play Russia’s Karen Khachanov.
