French Open champs head to Wimbledon wrestling with new-found status / Photo: © AFP
French Open champs head to Wimbledon wrestling with new-found status
Newly crowned French Open champions Alexander Zverev and Mirra Andreeva arrive at Wimbledon wrestling with an unexpected dilemma -- why doesn't life feel different after fulfilling their ambition to win a Grand Slam?
Zverev finally secured his long-awaited major triumph with a tense five-set victory over Flavio Cobolli at Roland Garros earlier in June.
Long regarded as the most talented player never to win a Grand Slam, the 29-year-old German exorcised the ghosts of three previous major final defeats.
Zverev had been tipped to dominate since his emergence as a precious teenager caught the eye of Roger Federer, but passive play on the biggest stages had cost him dearly, until he at last held his nerve to beat Cobolli in Paris.
Yet what should have been a transformative moment for Zverev has been followed by a strangely prosaic existence in the days since his triumph in the French capital.
He travelled to London, ahead of the start of Wimbledon on Monday, pondering exactly why that might be.
"I think people always think that once you win a Grand Slam, your life changes in a way. I kind of figured out it really doesn't," Zverev told reporters on Saturday.
"For me, I enjoy certain things outside the court. I will keep enjoying them, whether it's going to play golf with my friends, whether it's going to a kids club with my daughter.
"Of course there is some sort of satisfaction inside of me, and there is of course something that I was fighting for my entire career.
"Outside of that, life doesn't really change that much. You continue living your life. As you can see, two weeks later we're at Wimbledon and we're already preparing for the next Grand Slam."
- 'A little addiction' -
Just 24 hours before Zverev's victory at the French Open, Russian teenager Andreev crushed Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska to clinch her maiden Grand Slam title.
The 19-year-old was the youngest woman to win Roland Garros since Monica Seles in 1992.
Andreeva has taken far less time than Zverev to reach the pinnacle, thanks to the astute guidance of her former Grand Slam-winning coach Conchita Martinez.
She could be on the cusp of golden period but, just as Zverev has found, life remains unchanged and comfortably mundane for Andreeva.
"When I actually did win a Grand Slam, I just felt like, Yay. I was very happy. Now nothing is really changing for me," she said.
"I don't know why. My vision of how I approach practice, matches, or just everyday life, didn't change much."
Following one Grand Slam title with more has eluded many fine players in the past.
For Andreeva, the indescribable feeling of winning match-point in Paris is all the motivation she needs to push for another adrenaline rush at Wimbledon.
"Obviously the feelings I experienced after winning for the first day and a couple more days after that were incredible. I really want to try and experience them again," she said.
"So that's kind of a little addiction that I think a lot of players have after winning. So that's going to be my goal."
Zverev is less convinced he will be able to use glory in Paris as fuel to win Wimbledon.
"Look, I don't know. Wimbledon has always been the Grand Slam that I struggled the most at," he said.
"I do feel like I play good tennis at the moment. I'm going to do everything I can to show that."
S.Cisneros--LGdM
