Motivation still high for Zverev in Montreal after winning first Grand Slam title

He hit some tennis balls on a makeshift court composed of, yes, half ice. Keep your eyes peeled for the video evidence.  

“It was great,” Zverev told reporters on Sunday. “Very well organized.” 

Zverev returns to Canada as the top seed for the second straight season. But a noteworthy difference is that the German is now a Grand Slam winner. After losing his first three Major finals, Zverev got the job done at Roland-Garros. He played it cool during the tournament as his main rivals lost early but, knowing that opportunity was knocking, the 29-year-old later admitted that he was getting quite stressed by it all. Adding to the drama, he needed to go five sets to beat his friend, Flavio Cobolli, in the finale.

“It's a satisfaction, for sure,” he said. “I've waited for that Grand Slam title a very long time, in a way, and, of course, I'm very happy that it came,” Zverev explained.

READ: Dissecting the 2026 NBO Montreal Draw: Zverev, Auger-Aliassime Face Tricky Openers

It would have been easy for Zverev to ease off at Wimbledon but instead, he made another final, looking more aggressive from the baseline and pushing Jannik Sinner to four sets. 

“I think the period of the two months that I had was fantastic,” he said. “Of course, I wanted to win Wimbledon, I wanted to win the final, but at the end of the day I played an opponent who also knows how to play in these moments, and he played a phenomenal match, and it was a great match, which could have gone a bit longer. I feel like it could have gone to the fifth set.”

A one-week holiday ensued before Zverev practiced at Rafael Nadal’s academy in Mallorca, getting more advice from the five-time NBO winner in the process. He still has motivation, keen to land the No. 1 spot in the rankings. 

“That's definitely a goal of mine,” he said. 

Wins in Montreal, where he won the title in 2017 by downing Roger Federer, would help. He’ll start his tournament after a bye against either Lorenzo Sonego of Italy or Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands.

If it’s the latter, expect drama. Two of their last three completed matches lasted more than three hours. 

Photo by: Pascal Ratthé