Carlos Alcaraz reveals he gave Alexander Zverev advice on playing Daniil Medvedev

Ewan West 19 Aug 2023 10:24 AM

Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz in Madrid

Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz shake hands

Carlos Alcaraz has confirmed he told Alexander Zverev how he approached his recent Wimbledon semi-final victory over Daniil Medvedev.

Zverev defeated Medvedev in the last 16 of this week’s Cincinnati Masters and revealed the world No 1 had given him a “very good game plan” for facing his rival.

The German’s 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 triumph against Medvedev was just his second win in his last 10 encounters with the world No 3, who holds a 9-7 head-to-head edge against him.

Medvedev had won all three of the pair’s previous meetings this year – all of which were also in the last 16 of Masters 1000 tournaments.

Alcaraz delivered a dominant display to down the 27-year-old Russian 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 in the last four of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships last month.

The Spaniard explained he had a discussion with Zverev on a journey to a golf course during last week’s National Bank Open Open in Toronto.

“The golf course was about 30 minutes away from where we were staying, and in those 30 minutes that we were together, we had a lot of time for talking. We asked each other a few things, and that was one of his questions,” said the 20-year-old in an interview with Tennis Channel.

“He told me that I had just come off a very comfortable win against Daniil, and he asked me what was the right tactic? How did I do it? And you know, I’m a nice kid. I think I’m a bit naive in that way, so I told him how I approached the match.

“It’s the same as with a lot of players, if I have a question, I ask my peers and they ask me as well, and I tell them. At the end of the day, he has his own team and he has his coach, his own way of preparing for matches. But yeah, when someone asks me, I tell them what I’m feeling.”

Following his victory against Medvedev, Zverev told Tennis Channel how his conversation with Alcaraz had assisted him.

“You know, against him (Medvedev), playing slowly is not a bad tactic. I played golf with Carlos Alcaraz last week in Toronto and he gave me a very good game plan against him actually,” admitted the 26-year-old.

“I asked him a few questions, so that was quite helpful. At the end of the day I did what I had to do, I kind of fought it out. I’m happy to be sitting here as a winner.”

Alcaraz will face Hubert Hurkacz in the semi-finals in Cincinnati, while Zverev will take on Novak Djokovic.