Alexander Zverev Slammed After Saying Athletes Are ‘Stupid’ and Have ‘Absolutely Nothing’ in Their Heads

Alexander Zverev is into his career’s fourth Grand Slam final. And this time, he will be hoping to finally end the match in his favor, after failing to do so in the previous three title clashes.

In the semifinal, Sascha knocked out Jakub Mensik 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to progress to the Roland Garros final for the second time in his career. After the win, he was asked during the on-court interview what he thinks when he steps onto the court when his name is announced.

Pure emptiness. There’s absolutely nothing in my head. To be honest, though, we’re athletes. Very few of us have anything in our head anyways. So, sometimes, it’s easier to be stupid and not to think too much.

Zverev, however, found himself on the receiving end of criticism from former WTA World No.11 Alize Cornet, who did not agree with his statement at all.

The pointlessness of this statement, I’m stunned, actually. To say that athletes have nothing between their ears… Okay, he’s speaking for himself, but we’re all in the same boat. Seriously, it’s crazy when you think about it, to say that on center court. It’s such a lack of respect for the players, for the athletes… I’m calming down, I’m calming down. If he meant to be funny, it wasn’t.

Alize Cornet said on French TV

Zverev became the heavy favorite to win the final after Carlos Alcaraz‘s withdrawal and the defeats of Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic. Sinner crashed out in the second round after a five-set defeat to Juan Manuel Cerundolo, and the following day, the Serb joined him after his five-set defeat to Joao Fonseca.

Jakub Mensik explains why it was so challenging to play Alexander Zverev

Jakub Mensik ended Joao Fonseca’s run in the quarterfinal to set up his career’s second match against Alexander Zverev. The Czech ace met Sascha for the first time in the fourth round of this year’s Madrid Open and lost the match. At the press conference after his French Open exit, Mensik explained why it’s so challenging to face the World No.1.

In the first two sets, I had a very hard time finding rhythm and finding myself on the court, both physically and mentally. Sascha is a player who disrupts your rhythm, prolongs the exchanges, and I struggled to find good sensations and get into my zone, which I didn’t achieve in those two sets, leading to an energy drop.

Mensik played his career’s first Grand Slam semifinal in this event. Prior to the tournament, he had never gone past the fourth round, reaching the stage just once, in this year’s Australian Open.

Physically, it has been a long tournament; I recovered well in those two days, but still during the match, I felt the left side of my neck getting stiff. I wouldn’t say it’s an injury or anything that will keep me out for long; I just felt a stiff neck at that moment, which prevented me from making some movements.

Jakub Mensik added

Zverev will next be locking horns with Flavio Cobolli, who received a walkover from compatriot Matteo Arnaldi. The 29-year-old will be clashing with the Italian ace for the fifth time in his career. In their previous four meetings, Zverev won thrice, including their last match in the quarterfinal of this year’s Madrid Open.

The lone win that Cobolli registered was in the semifinal of this year’s Munich Open, where Zverev failed to defend his title. Cobolli later lost the match to Ben Shelton. The 24-year-old has so far lifted just one title, the Mexican Open, while Zverev has yet to win a title since the 2025 Munich Open.

Also read: Flavio Cobolli Reveals ‘Crazy’ Rafael Nadal Shower Superstition After Reaching Roland Garros Semifinal