Alexander Zverev Explains His Delayed Reaction When He Won The U.S. Open

By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

Alexander Zverev had one of the strangest reactions ever to winning a major singles title.

Just as he clinched the final point of his 6-3, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2 final-round U.S. Open win over Ben Shelton, Zverev did…. Nothing. He casually took a ball out of his pocket and hit it to the other side of the net and casually walked over to the corner of the court where his father, brother and team were sitting.

It wasn’t until his brother Mischa crossed his arms to him, signifying the match was “finished” that he understood that he was the U.S. Open champion.

“I thought it was 5-1,” said Zverev in his post-match press conference of him mistaking the score. “I knew I broke him twice, but I thought it was 5-1 instead of 6-2, which helped me in a way, because I didn’t really get nervous serving out the match. I just miscounted the score, I guess.”

The fact that Zverev did not know the score is a credit to his concentration and not playing the score, but being absorbed in the process of winning and not the final result. Even more to his credit that he didn’t see all the video boards that surround the court that brilliantly display “Match Point” when a match comes to that point.”

”In that moment I was in the zone a lot,” he said. “I didn’t hear noise at all. I was in this kind of tunnel where I just didn’t hear anything. Then also, of course, when the crowd is loud, it’s impossible to hear the umpire, so I didn’t hear that she said, Game, Set, Match. But, yeah, at the end of the day, I think I just forgot the score. It’s not much else to say. I just thought it was 5-1 instead of 6-2.”