Alexander Zverev Calls Tokyo Olympics 2020 the ‘Toughest’ Tournament Despite Absence of Nadal and Federer

Alexander Zverev became the second German player after Steffi Graff to win an Olympic Gold medal in a singles event. The German beat Karen Khachanov of Russia in the finals of the men’s singles event. He won 6-3, 6-1 in an hour and 19 minutes at the Ariake Tennis court.

The German has described the Olympic Gold as the biggest achievement of his life to date. The World No.5 played some scintillating tennis on his way towards the ultimate glory- A Gold medal.

‘It’s bigger than anything I’ve won’: Alexander Zverev on his Olympic Gold medal

Alexander Zverev participated in his maiden Olympic tournament this year in Tokyo. He pinched the gold medal in his very first attempt and looked impressive while doing so. The German is yet to win a Grand Slam event in his career. However, he has secured one of the most prestigious prizes in the world for any athlete.

Special mentions in Zverev’s career involve the Nitto ATP Finals title in 2018, along with a few ATP Masters 1000 events. However, Zverev believes that the win in Tokyo today is the biggest of his life.

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“It’s bigger than anything I’ve won,” said Zverev in his post-match interview. He has joined an elite list of players to have won the Olympic Gold in the men’s singles event.

Zverev on the competitions difficulty level this year

Prior to the Tokyo Olympic Games, a number of athletes had withdrawn from the event due to injury issues. However, Zverev is of the opinion that all the mainstay players were present except for a few, such as Rafael Nadal. He believes the Olympics to be one of the most difficult tournaments of the season.

“The best players all came. The only one who didn’t come was the one who hadn’t come to Wimbledon before: Rafa (Nadal). Everyone else was there, everyone else played. It was one of the toughest tournaments of the season,” said Zverev in his post-match interview.

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The external factors do not shift our focus from the way Zverev played his final game of the tournament. He dominated the entire match against Karen Khachanov and did not give him a chance to take charge in the tournament. Zverev will be an important player at the US Open later in August, after beating Novak Djokovic in the semifinals in Tokyo.

Can Zverev continue his golden run at the US Open as well?