German star Alexander Zverev hilariously reveals unique pre-match habit

Alexander Zverev is one of the top contenders aiming to dethrone Jannik Sinner at the top of the ATP Rankings. The German star currently holds the No. 2 spot and is targeting a strong performance at the Madrid Open to earn crucial points in the race. Recently, he opened up about how he gets ready before each match.

In an interview with the official website of the ATP Tour, Zverev was asked about what he typically does in the hour leading up to a match. “Most of the time I’m sleeping,” he revealed. “Like, I sleep probably until half an hour, 45 minutes before the match and then I get taped and I warm up, there’s not really much thought going into it. As long as I get my nap, everything’s fine.”

Sasha was then asked why he chooses to do that. “Why? I like to sleep,” he said with a smile, drawing a laugh from the interviewer. “Does it help you focus?” he was asked next. “No, I just like to sleep. You’re gonna try to get a scientific answer out of it. No, I just really like to sleep,” Alexander replied.

When it came to his mental preparation ahead of matches, Zverev stayed candid. “Most of the time I think about why did they wake me up so early. You’re not gonna get anything useful out of me in that sense. There’s no thought going into it,” he said.

Alexander Zverev is the current World No. 2 in the ATP Rankings.

How does Zverev handle nerves?

The conversation continued, focusing on how Zverev spends his time and what goes through his mind just before matches. When asked whether nerves ever play a role in that process, the World No. 2 gave a response that was both honest and humorous.

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“Yeah, you get nervous about probably two minutes before you walk out on court, or when you’re standing there and you’re playing Rafa (Nadal) on Philippe Chatrier (Roland Garros’ principal venue) and they say he’s won the tournament 78 times,” Alexander replied. “Yeah, maybe you get a little nervous. But all in all, I think I’m quite relaxed before matches.”

Zverev on the evolution of his serve

In the same interview, Alexander Zverev talked about how important his serve has become to his game. “It’s something that you can always kind of comeback to in important moments,” he said. “And it’s not there’s a lot this year actually, so I’m happy that’s also coming back slowly. But for sure it’s something that you can always rely on important moments.”

When discussing what makes a serve effective, the German star added: “I think stability is one thing. There was a time when I was really unstable on my second serve especially. Had to change technique a little bit, had to change the ball toss a little bit. Having a stable serve and having a weapon that you can rely on is always comforting, comforting for the rest of the game as well. That was something that I would really had to work on over the last few years.”