"Struggled with food, sleep conditions, no AC" - Alexander Zverev rues 'difficult' Paris 2024 ordeal amid German Federation's Olympic Village mandate
Amid his campaign at the 2024 Canadian Open, Alexander Zverev has opened up about his poor experience at the Olympic Village during the Paris Games. The World No. 4 also disclosed that the decision to stay in the village was out of his hands as it was mandated by the German Olympic Sports Confederation.
Having triumphed at the Tokyo Olympics, Zverev set his sights on winning his second Olympic singles gold medal at Roland Garros, shortly after his run to the French Open final. Although the German breezed through the opening rounds without dropping a set, he suffered a 7-5, 7-5 loss to eventual bronze medalist Lorenzo Musetti in the quarterfinals.
The World No. 4 has since kicked off his North American hardcourt swing at the Canadian Open, claiming a dominant 6-1, 6-1 win over Jordan Thompson in his opening match at the ATP Masters 1000 event.
Speaking to Prakash Amritraj on the Tennis Channel after his win, Alexander Zverev bemoaned his poor experience at the Paris Olympics, emphasizing that he had much preferred the conditions at the Tokyo Games.
The 27-year-old admitted to struggling with the food, sleeping conditions, and lack of air conditioning at the Olympic Village, revealing that all German athletes had to stay at the village.
"I prefer Tokyo. I prefer winning the gold obviously. No, it's always special to be part of the Olympics. This year, it was strange because of Roland Garros, a place that we all know extremely well but, at the same time, it was very different," Alexander Zverev said.
"The Olympic Village wasn't the greatest, I have to unfortunately admit. I stayed there, the whole German team stayed here. We had to stay there by our federation. Struggled a bit with the food, with the sleeping conditions, no AC as well in the rooms, which was difficult for me. But it was the same for everybody, so no complaining there," he added.
While Zverev asserted that the organization at the Tokyo Olympics was superior, he still appreciated the experience of being surrounded by fellow athletes at the Olympic Village.
"In those regards, Tokyo was a lot better, the organization maybe was a lot better as well but still it was a great experience being with all the athletes there. It was fun to be in the Olympic Village again but winning is always the part that's the most fun and I didn't do that this time," he said.
"I'm definitely happy with my performance" - Alexander Zverev on overcoming 'tough turnaround' from Paris Olympics to Canadian Open
In the same interview, Alexander Zverev admitted it was a "very tough turnaround" from playing on clay at the 2024 Paris Olympics to commencing the North American hardcourt season at the Canadian Open.
Nevertheless, the World No. 4 expressed satisfaction with his performance against Jordan Thompson, conveying his optimism about making further improvements during the tournament.
"It's a quick turnaround. It's a quick flight from Paris to here, six hour time difference, from clay court to hard court. So that's why the results today and this week so far has been maybe a bit strange to outside people but there are reasons for that," Alexander Zverev said.
"The people that were at the Olympics and went deep at the Olympics, it's a quick turnaround, it's a very tough turnaround so not easy definitely. I'm definitely happy with the level today. I'm definitely happy with my performance and hopefully that can still improve," he added.
Following his win over Thompson, Alexander Zverev claimed a 6-3, 7-6(5) win over Holger Rune to advance to the quarterfinals of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Montreal. The German will battle against Sebastian Korda for a place in the semifinals.