Alexander Zverev Reveals if He Would Swap his Olympic Gold Medal for a Grand Slam

Alexander Zverev has admitted that he won’t exchange his Olympic gold medal for a maiden Grand Slam at the French Open. The German star is in the semi-finals of the Roland Garros and has a huge opportunity to win the championship following the early exits of Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner.

Zverev won his only Olympic gold medal at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo after beating Russia’s Karen Khachanov in straight sets in the final. He surprisingly defeated Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, rallying from a set down to stop the former World No. 1. The Olympic gold medal triumph is regarded as the only major silverware he has won in his career.

At the French Open, he is on the brink of winning his second major silverware at the age of 29. He has come close thrice to winning a Grand Slam title but failed to get over the line in the finals at the 2020 US Open, 2024 French Open, and 2025 Australian Open. More often, his career has been defined by Grand Slam final losses than by what he has achieved.

Fans believe he’s one of the most talented players in the circuit without a major title to his name. But that can change with just two wins at the Roland Garros. He’s currently in the semi-finals of the clay-court Grand Slam and has dropped just one set at the tournament. He crushed Spanish sensation Rafael Jodar 7-6(3), 6-1, 6-3 in the quarter-finals.

The remaining four players in the French Open draw are ranked outside the top 3, which makes Zverev an easy favorite to win the championship. There’s a belief that it’s either now or never for Zverev to finally win a Slam. Nonetheless, he admitted during his media interview that he will never trade his Olympic gold medal for the French Open title:

There’s no chance of that. The gold medal, for me, is the hardest to win because you have one opportunity every four years. It is very special because few have achieved it. Also, you do it for your country, for the people back home, so I will never exchange my gold medal for anything. But I don’t mind adding a few things to my list.

Zverev is without a title this season. He has reached multiple semi-finals and quarter-finals, including the final of the Madrid Open. His championship clash against Sinner in Madrid ended in a big disappointment as he lost the tie in straight sets. In fact, the tie only lasted for 56 minutes at the Caja Magica.

Alexander Zverev focused on beating Jakub Mensik rather than being the favorite

Alexander Zverev would have no one to blame but himself should he not win the French Open. But the everyday talk about him being the favorite to win the title may add more pressure on him should he reach the final. The German star has, in the past, proven that he’s not the best at handling mountainous pressure on the court.

He will face Jakub Mensik in the semi-finals, their second meeting this season. He won their earlier clash at the Madrid Open in the fourth round, in three sets, and will be aiming to beat the Czech star for the second time. During the aforementioned press conference, he admitted that he’s not focused on being the favorite, but rather on winning matches:

For me, it’s quite simple, I have to play well. I’ve said before that I believe I have to trust my game, my tennis, and myself. And if I play well, I think that’s 99% of the work. As I said before, I don’t care. I focus on the next match and the opponents. That’s the only thing I can control. And if I win those matches, that’s great.

Mensik defeated Joao Fonseca in straight sets in the quarter-finals on Tuesday (June 2). The last time he got to the later stages of a big tournament was at the ATP 1000 event in Miami last year. There, he defeated Novak Djokovic in the final to claim the first tour-level title of his career.

Also Read: Joao Fonseca Explains How Roland Match Versus Jakub Mensik Was Different Compared to Ones He Played Against Novak Djokovic and Casper Ruud