Alexander Zverev says he would never swap his 2021 Olympic gold medal for a Grand Slam title – a striking line from a player into the Roland-Garros semi-finals and still hunting the major that has eluded him through three finals.
Asked directly in his quarter-final press conference whether he would ever trade the gold for a Slam, the German did not hesitate. “No chance,” Zverev said.
He explained the medal’s weight in terms of rarity and meaning rather than ranking points. “The gold medal, for me, is the most difficult thing to win, because you get a chance once every four years,” he said. “It’s special in that so few people have done it, and you do it for your country, for the people back home. So I’ll never trade my gold medal for anything.”
Roger Federer, for instance, never won the golden medal in singles, contrary to Rafael Nadal (2008), Andy Murray (2012, 2016) and Novak Djokovic (2024).
“I wouldn’t mind adding a few things to my list.”
Zverev won the singles title at the Tokyo Olympics, defeating Novak Djokovic in semis and Karen Khachanov in final, a career-defining achievement for a player who has reached three Grand Slam finals – the US Open in 2020, Roland-Garros in 2024 and the Australian Open in 2025 – without lifting the trophy.
He did not pretend to be satisfied. Pressed on whether he would still like to add to his collection, Zverev allowed himself one note of appetite: “I wouldn’t mind adding a few things to my list.”
For the rest, Zverev held to the studied indifference he has shown all fortnight about a draw that lost Alcaraz, Sinner and Djokovic and is widely called the most open in years. Asked whether being named among the favourites motivated him, he waved it away. “I don’t particularly care,” he said, two days prior the semi-final. “I focus on the next match and on the opponent across the net, that’s the only thing I can control. If it works out, then I win the matches and that’s great.”