"Today is not my moment, it's Rafael Nadal's"- Alexander Zverev steps back to let Spaniard soak in moment after possible final French Open campaign
Despite defeating Rafael Nadal 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3 in the opening round of the 2024 French Open on Monday, May 27, Alexander Zverev acknowledged that the moment belonged to the Spaniard. The German cut short his post-match speech to let Nadal soak in the moment after what was possibly his final French Open campaign.
Zverev, who grew up watching Rafael Nadal play, claimed he was "lucky" to have been able to face the 14-time French Open champion at Roland Garros.
When asked how he prepared for the match and handled his emotions during the encounter, Zverev appeared lost for words before rendering a short but touching speech.
"To be honest, I don't know what to say. First of all, thank you Rafa. From all of the tennis world, it's such a great honour. I have watched Rafa play all my childhood. and I was lucky enough to play him when I turned professional. I was lucky enough to play him twice on this beautiful court," Zverev stated.
"I don't know what to say. Today is not my moment, it's Rafa's moment. So,I am not going to speak much," he added in an emotional tone amidst the roar of the crowd.
Zverev's gesture has earned him a lot of appreciation and praise from fans.
Rafael Nadal goes down to Alexander Zverev in straight sets
In a match where the focus was primarily on his renowned opponent, Alexander Zverev performed well enough to move on to the second round of the French Open despite appearing circumspect while putting away winners.
Zverev began the eagerly awaited contest by breaking Nadal in the opening game before holding serve from 0-30 down to veer off a 2-0 lead. An unforced error from Zverev helped Nadal get onto the scoreboard on his own serve.
The 37-year-old stretched his opponent but failed to stop Zverev from taking a 3-1 lead as Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz looked on from the stands.
Zverev took the opening set 6-3 in 54 minutes after breaking the serve once. Zverev's advantage came from a second break of serve. Nadal saved two break points before breaking his opponent's serve for the first time in the match to go up 3-2 in the second set, much to the delight of a majority of the spectators at Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Playing sublime tennis, Zverev fought back to break Nadal's serve and level things up at 5-5 before nosing ahead with the score reading 6-5. Zverev took the tie-break to consolidate his position in the encounter but it was Nadal who seized the early initiative in the third set by racing away to a 2-0 lead.
The surge from the Spaniard didn't last long, as Zverev got his act together to catch up at 2-2 before Nadal managed to hold serve through a marathon game with the Hamburg-born player unable to put away several easy winners. The 2024 Italian Open champion then manufactured a vital break of serve to move closer to victory, with a final break securing a memorable opening-round win against the 22-time Grand Slam champion.