Zverev: “Djokovic is the greatest of all time”

German tennis player Alexander Zverev rHe recognized Novak Djokovic's superiority after losing to the Serbian on Friday in the semifinals of the US Open and called him “the greatest of all time”. “He's breaking all the records there are. If you look at the statistics, if you look at the pure game of tennis, it's the greatest game of all time,” Zverev said after his 4-6, 6-2 loss to 'Nole' , 6-4, 4-6 and 6-2 in three hours and 33 minutes of play.

With a victory on Sunday in the final against Daniil Medvedev, Djokovic would add his 21st Grand Slam title, beating Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal in that race, and would appropriate the four major tournaments of 2021. The last male tennis player to achieve this feat in 1969 was the Australian Rod Laver, who was present in the stands of Flushing Meadows (New York) at the age of 83 to see his possible successor.

“Nobody thought that what Rod Laver did would be done again. Seeing him get the chance on Sunday, I think he will, it's great, “Zverev said.” No one is there with him.. He has the longest number of weeks at number one in the world, of Masters 1000 titles, probably Grand Slams. And you have a chance to win all four in the same year. How can you compete with that?“, he asked in front of the press.

Zverev, who beat Djokovic in July in the semifinals of the Tokyo 2020 Games, was satisfied with his performance in the semifinals on Friday except for the start of the fifth set, in which he allowed Djokovic to advance 5-0. “I'm a bit disappointed at the start of the fifth set. But to be honest, other than that, it was a good match,” said the world number four.

“We are the best players in the world. He and I are probably two of the three best players in the world at the moment. “. “In a game like this, there will always be comings and goings. I defended myself, I left everything out there.” The party “could have gone both ways, but it fell on its side. Very often it does,” he acknowledged. “He plays the best tennis when he needs it, which a lot of players don't. That is why he is number one in the world. “ “Mentally, in the most important moments, I would rather play against anyone else than against him,” he said. Zverev, who was supported in his box by Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler (“he's a good friend”), He was on the verge of his second consecutive final at the US Open, where last year he fell to Austrian Dominic Thiem.