"Would love to play Rafael Nadal one more time": Alexander Zverev on aim to script 'different ending' to injury-marred French Open 2022 SF vs Spaniard

Alexander Zverev recently stated that he would love to face Rafael Nadal once again in a high-stakes match like a final or semifinal. He shared that his motivation stemmed from a desire to rewrite the conclusion of his injury-hampered 2022 French Open semifinal against the Spaniard .

Zverev has faced Nadal twice at Grand Slam events. Their first encounter was at the 2017 Australian Open, followed by a second meeting in the semifinals of the 2022 French Open. In both the matches, the former World No.1 emerged victorious.

Their clash at Roland Garros lasted three hours and 13 minutes, spanning less than two sets. Zverev, trailing 6-7(8), 6-6, suffered a severe ankle injury which forced him to retire from the match. It was later revealed that the German had torn all three lateral ligaments in his right ankle, which led to surgery and a long spell out of action.

During a pre-tournament press conference ahead of the 2024 Italian Open, Alexander Zverev reflected on his match against Nadal at the French Open. He described it as one of the best matches of his career, despite the unfortunate ending that caused him to miss the remainder of the 2022 season

"I have mixed feelings and mixed emotions obviously about that match, about playing him there just simply because it was one of the best tennis matches I've ever played in my career, but it was the worst ending I've ever had to a tennis match in my career," Zverev said.

The former World No.2 also expressed his wish to compete against the 22-time Grand Slam champion in another high-stakes match in order to rewrite the ending of his 2022 French Open semifinal memories.

"I would love to do it one more time just simply to kind of have a different ending to those memories, right? That's just something in my mind. I would love to play him one more time. I would love to play him in a final or semifinal, in a big match again. I think that would be great for both of us. We'll see how it will be for him," Zverev said.

Alexander Zverev on facing Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros: "The biggest challenge in tennis"

Alexander Zverev and Rafael Nadal

At the recent press conference, Alexander Zverev stated that competing against Rafael Nadal on the iconic Philippe-Chatrier court at Roland-Garros is the "biggest challenge" in tennis.

"I mean, he becomes different. His ball becomes all of a sudden a few kilometers an hour faster. All of a sudden his footwork and foot speed becomes a lot faster. It's more difficult to hit a winner, especially on Philippe Chatrier, which is a massive court, so he has a lot more space," Alexander Zverev said.

"It is very difficult. It's probably the biggest challenge in tennis. It's the biggest challenge that you can have in our sport, playing Nadal on that court," he added.

The German expressed that it felt impossible to defeat the 14-time French Open champion at Roland Garros.

"You have a feeling that you just can't put him away. Somehow you feel like you're winning, but then somehow you end up not. It's just something that you only feel against him on that specific court," he added.

Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev have faced one another ten times so far, with the former coming out on top on seven occasions.