The French Open draw ceremony crackled with tension. Rafael Nadal, the unseeded king of clay, awaited his fate. When his name landed opposite Alexander Zverev, a collective gasp rippled through the crowd. Was this a lucky first-round draw, or a brutal baptism by fire? Nadal, shrouded in mystery due to his ranking, kept his counsel. But Zverev, ever the showman, decided to answer the question for everyone… with a hilarious twist! Now, the tennis world hung on, eager to see if his answer matched the absurdity of the draw itself.

Fresh off Rome victory, Zverev is ready for another battle in the Roland Garros. Before he embarks on his journey, the German tennis pro appeared for a pre-tournament press conference. A short video of that interview was posted by Tennis Actu TV channel on YouTube. The interview went on for a while, where Zverev explained his thoughts before the match against the ‘King of Clay’. But it took a hilarious turn towards the end. It happened when a reporter asked, “Who you think has been more unlucky, Rafael Nadal or you?”

The former World No. 2, shocked at the question at first, asked for the reporter to elaborate in “what way”. This time, the reporter completed the question and asked, “Who has been more unlucky on the draw?” Quickly understanding it, the 27-year-old player humorously pointed out, “With the draw I thought in life I mean he has 22 Grand Slams I don’t know I mean…I wish I would be that unlucky. I’d take it.” As he finished his reply, a wave of laughter erupted in the conference room.

But his hilarious response underlined his deep appreciation for the Spaniard. And we all agree with him. Rafael Nadal’s two-decade-long career has been filled with accolades. Be it winning 14 French Open titles or staying at the top for 209 weeks, the Spaniard has enjoyed earning 92 titles in his career. Therefore, who does not want to be as fortunate as Nadal? And for Alexander Zverev, his admiration for Nadal has always been huge. Even when it comes to playing against him for the 11th time, he admitted, “For me, in my mind, I’m going to play peak Rafa Nadal. That’s what I expect him to be.”

However, Zverev further answered the question about being lucky and said, “I think both of us. If we would have a choice we would choose differently for sure. I mean he’s going to finish his career, I really wanted to play him here. I did not want to play him in the first round I wanted to play him in the semi-finals finals…” Although he admitted that the first time he heard that he will be playing against Rafael Nadal in the draw, his reaction was a bit different.

Alexander Zverev thought the news of him playing against Rafael Nadal was a “joke”

Alexander Zverev’s last memory of playing against Rafael Nadal was a horrifying one. In the semifinals of the Roland Garros of 2022, Zverev had an ankle injury that compelled him to stay away from tennis for the rest of that season. But two years have passed since that accident. Now, Zverev wants to play one last time against the Spaniard. But when the news came to him that he will be playing him in the draw, Zverev could not believe it.

Zverev initially thought his brother was kidding about facing Nadal in Roland Garros opener. “I was on court with (Andrey) Rublev yesterday on Chatrier practicing, and then after the practice was over, which was actually a great practice, my brother told me. I actually thought he was joking in the beginning. But then, yeah, it is what it is,” the World No. 4 admitted.

As both of them prepare for what Zverev considers to be “a tough draw”, it will be interesting to watch who emerges victorious this time. “We’ll see how it goes on Monday.”