00:03Je suis très heureux d'être dans la finale de Wimbledon, c'est sûr, j'espère que j'ai joué
00:11un bon match sur le Sunday.
00:13Your forehand seemed to be hitting the spots on the corners nearly every time.
00:17Your top level, where was that in comparison to what you can do on a tennis court?
00:21Today?
00:22In terms of your top level, was it sort of the nearest standard or what would you say?
00:28Well, I think today was a bit of a mix of everything. I think the first set wasn't that particularly
00:33great and I think the second and third set were really good.
00:37But he was a very, very different type of opponent than I had in the fourth round and in the
00:42quarterfinals, where I had two massive servers, massive hitters.
00:46So it took some adjustments, but once I found my rhythm, I thought it was a good match and I
00:52felt the ball quite well.
00:53So, I don't know. I'm in the Wimbledon final, I'm just happy about that. I think you have to be
01:00playing well to be here.
01:02Simon?
01:03It's quite unusual to go from the position where you just won the title and the slam after a long
01:10wait and then you come back and do it again, get to the final.
01:15Dominic Thiem particularly talked about how hard he found it after the first breakthrough he had.
01:19Do you think there's a reason why you've coped with it so well?
01:25I think it's very individual. I think different people. I think Dominic Thiem in particular, he put his whole life
01:34and soul into winning that slam and he came back from two sets of love down against me in the
01:38US Open.
01:38And I think it was such a relief for him that it was maybe a bit too much of a
01:43relief mentally. For me, I stay focused. I stay hungry. I want more. I want to continue playing at the
01:52best level and continue winning.
01:54And I hope I'm able to do that. And again, on Sunday, I have another big chance.
02:05What's your approach ahead of the final? Do you want to analyse in detail Yannick and Novak's match or do
02:11you prefer to let your team do that and you focus on what you can control?
02:14No, when I'll get back, I'll watch it for sure. I'll watch the match or the finish of the match,
02:20whatever it will be. But then the rest, my team will do and then they will give me the information
02:25and they feel as necessary.
02:29The Paris final, your grandmother came over and was part of your team.
02:32No, she was there for months before.
02:35Is she going to be able to come to London?
02:36She doesn't have a visa. She unfortunately has a Russian passport still.
02:42Have you spoken to her? Will you sort of make a point of speaking to her prior to the match
02:46and a good luck message?
02:47Well, my phone is off, so I don't tend to speak to anyone, to be honest.
02:52But it was great when she was there and I hope, you know, maybe I know that our councillor is
03:02coming to the final,
03:03so maybe he can help with a passport or a longer visa for her and then she can stay a
03:09bit longer, but she had to go back after 90 days.
03:11Does that work for you, turning the phone off? Is that what you did in Paris? Is that what works
03:15for you, turning the phone off?
03:16My phone has been off for years during slams. My phone is never on during slams.
03:21Simon?
03:22You obviously said some muddy words about Arthur on the court. I mean, as British, we're all pleasantly surprised by
03:28what's happened here, but we're trying to work out what level he's at. What's your verdict?
03:33Yeah, he's at a good level. I think he's still at the start of his career, for sure. And I
03:40think that his game is very, very good. I think he has a lot of things in his game that
03:49he can still improve, which is a very positive thing because he just made semi-finals for Wimbledon for the
03:54first time and I still feel like, or he probably still feels the same way. He has a lot of
03:59things that he can still do a bit better.
04:02And that's a massive compliment, I feel like, because if you're complete and that's your ceiling, then you know that's
04:11your ceiling. But if you know that you're just starting and you're making semi-finals or slams, that's a positive.
04:16Not that you would know, but if you're a little bit shorter, do you think that you have to work
04:21harder as a player?
04:22I think you just style your game a bit different. Me, I have to work a lot harder than maybe
04:29shorter players on my physicality. Because I think for taller guys, tennis is a bit more of a difficult sport
04:37because physically it's more demanding.
04:40Because, you know, he probably weighs 70, 72, 73 kilos. I'm walking around 96 kilos. That's 20 plus kilos, you
04:49know, so just those things. I have to work harder. He probably has to work harder on finding power, finding,
04:57you know, an easier way to win points. That for sure.
05:04Sascha, you're being more and more proactive with your forehand, a lot of one plus one points. I'm pretty sure
05:12that one year ago at Nadal's academy you worked a lot on that shot. Do you feel you're at your
05:20best with that combination serve and forehand, whereas you would bring a lot of points serve backhand?
05:28Yeah, look, I think I've talked about a lot this year. This year, I've been trying to play a more
05:34aggressive game style. I've been trying to take on the game a bit more. And for sure, my forehand is
05:39a big part of it. When I hit that shot well, I feel like I'm playing well. When I don't
05:44hit that shot well, that's where I'm more beatable. But the last couple of months, I think it's been working
05:53okay.
05:56You've played Yannick and Novak a lot of times, but never on grass. Could you just talk a little about
06:02how you think it might be different for each player on grass, the matchup?
06:06I think both of them, they love the grass court. They feel comfortable on the surface. I think for Novak,
06:12you don't have to, I think it's big for yourself, the records that he has on grass. And Yannick has
06:17won the movement in the last year. So for sure, they feel very comfortable on the surface. And again, I
06:23think the serve return patterns, they're going to be very, very important against both players. And the rest we'll see.
06:30Last English question, Rob.
06:32I just wondered that Sasha Zera for 2026 is better equipped to play a Wimbledon final than, say, a year
06:37ago, two years ago, three years ago.
06:38A year ago, I lost first round, so I would say so, probably.
06:42I appreciate you've been asked a lot. Because of the French Open title, this liberation, the fact that you have
06:46done it, you've got over the line, does that mean you're better equipped? And if so, why?
06:50I think there's two things to it. I think, yes, one thing for sure. Once you win a major, you
06:55know how to do it and you feel like you can do it again. You have this feeling inside of
06:59you.
07:00But the second thing, I feel like I worked on my game a lot. And I feel like my game
07:04has improved.
07:05It's sometimes, sometimes in sports, it's as simple as that. When you improve your forehand, when you improve your backhand,
07:11when you improve your serve, when you improve your return, you're going to win more matches.
07:14It's sometimes as simple as that. You can talk about mental stuff. You can talk about, I don't know, certain
07:23situations, coaching changes, whatever.
07:24But if you improve as a player and you make the decision as a player to improve, you're going to
07:30do better in tournaments.
07:31I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't
07:34know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I
07:34don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.
07:34I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't
07:34know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I
07:34don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.
07:34I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.
Commentaires