J. SINNER/A. Zverev
6-4, 6-3
THE MODERATOR: Let's start with questions.
Q. One question with two observations. You didn't get any break point in Australia. Tonight you had seven. All the time, almost all the time, he was serving an ace. Is this the biggest progress that you think Sinner has done in these two years? Today he made 12 aces, and you made seven. Two years ago it was impossible to predict he was serving more aces than you.
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah, I think generally today the match, the biggest difference was how he was serving on the break points. I had more break points than him. I felt very good from the baseline, actually better than in Vienna almost, when we were in the rally.
To be honest, he had two chances to break me, and he used both of them. I had a lot of chances, and I didn't use any.
The score was 6-4, 6-3, but in my opinion, my humble opinion, I felt like the match was closer than the score maybe says. I thought it was a very high-level match. I thought especially from the baseline we played very well.
This is how it is sometimes. Sometimes when he's having a day like this where he's serving unbelievable... His biggest strength is of course how he plays from the baseline, how he moves, how he hits forehands, how he hits backhands.
Sometimes when he's serving like this, it's even more difficult because, as you said, seven break points, seven first serves, not one second serve I had. I was not even in the rally at all. I think I made one return. He hit a forehand winner. So yeah, it's difficult like this.
But of course, he improved his serve a lot. All in all, from the baseline, how the game was, I thought it was a good match, which maybe was closer than the score says.
Q. How would you sum up with just one word, if you have to choose, your feelings about this match, particularly about how he just didn't let you in the point in any of the break points?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Listen, I hope to see him again - it's as simple as that - this week.
Q. I was pretty impressed with your first set. You served 87% of first serves. You won 19 out of 26 points. You still lost 6-4.
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Yeah.
Q. What do you say to yourself in these occasions? What could I have done better? It's unplayable?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: It's not unplayable. I had many opportunities. He had one, he used the chance. This is why he's No. 1 in the world, you know? He uses the chances that he gets.
As I just answered the question to Ubaldo, from the baseline, it was a high-level match. He just used his chances much, much better than me. That's why in the end he won both sets.
Q. Talking with even Ljubicic, he said the other players have to ask to themselves where they can improve. If Jannik is improving so much, what can they do to arrive close to him. What do you think you can do?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: Number one is to stay healthy and injury-free. This year was a nightmare for me injury-wise. All the time I had something. It was difficult for me to improve when I always had to try to get healthy. This is number one thing.
Look, of course I think it's quite easy for you guys to ask these questions because the score says 6-4, 6-3. If you look deeper into the match, I really believe that it could have been more than 6-4, 6-3, so...
Don't always judge it by the score.
Q. 6-3 is the score of the set you won against Jannik in Vienna in the final. I guess you are the latest to have won a set against him. If you remember this match, what made that possible that could be an inspiration for you and maybe other players of the tour?
ALEXANDER ZVEREV: I used my break point (smiling).
Again, I'm going to give you the same boring answers. If you have seven break points and he serves seven first serves, you don't play the rally out once, it's difficult. Against Jannik, he's one of the best returners. You have one shaky game, if he uses the chance and you don't, this is the score it's going to be.
So using the break point is quite obviously very important (smiling).
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports