Most athletes who secure major tennis championships often cite their powerful serves or key shots that clinched the match, or perhaps the influence of a new coach. However, Alexander Zverev took a different approach, attributing his triumph to the cramps he experienced during the match.
Following his hard-fought victory over Flavio Cobolli, which marked his first major singles title, Zverev was interviewed by Jim Courier on American network TNT. Courier inquired about how he maintained his composure throughout the intense final moments of the match, especially after losing a crucial tiebreak in the fourth set.
“What kind of helped me, it kind of helped me mentally that I was cramping a bit,” Zverev explained. “I was cramping because of emotional effort. I wasn’t cramping because of physical effort. I haven’t cramped in probably 10 years, and I was very nervous, I was very kind of tightened up, and then once I cramped, I relaxed and that helped me, and I feel like I played better in the fifth set. I played more free, I played more aggressive, and today, I actually think that I won because of the cramps.”
At one point in the match, Zverev led 3-1 in the fourth set tiebreaker while being two sets ahead and on the brink of claiming the long-awaited title. However, cramps began to take their toll on him, leading him to lose six of the next eight points to Cobolli, thus forcing a decisive fifth set. Zverev, who had previously faced defeat in three major finals, rallied to secure the match with a score of 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-1.
Courier, a two-time champion at Roland Garros, elaborated on how the physical distraction of cramping can alleviate the psychological pressure players face during critical matches.
“It’s like if you’ve got a bad problem with your ankle and you bang your thumb. You’re not thinking about your ankle anymore,” Courier remarked. “He had a head problem, and now all of a sudden, he’s thinking about ‘my body’ and ‘my legs’ and ‘can I actually move around and do the things’ instead of ‘Oh, my God, why can’t I move around and do things?’ So, in a way, it was the perfect distraction for him to get free.”
In an ironic twist, cramps also played a role in Zverev’s victory, as world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, a strong tournament favorite, suffered severe cramps during his second-round match against Juan Manuel Cerundolo. Sinner held a two-set lead and was up 5-1 in the third set before succumbing to cramps, ultimately winning only two more games in that match.
With Sinner eliminated from the tournament, alongside two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, who was sidelined due to injury, and 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic, who lost in the third round to Joao Fonseca, the pressure intensified on Zverev. He recognized this as a prime opportunity to seize a major title.
“I felt like, throughout the two weeks, I was managing my emotions extremely well,” Zverev stated. “I was playing well in important moments. I felt like today I didn’t. I was a lot more nervous. The match was a lot more up and down from my side, but at the end of the day, the most important thing was the fifth set, and I won that.”
