Alexander Zverev's unusual Roland Garros has shaped up to be his Vindication Slam

After barely surviving his third-round match at Roland Garros with Tallon Griekspoor in a fifth-set super-tiebreaker, Alexander Zverev knew what he wanted to tell those near and dear to him.

“I already had a full speech for every single member of my team ready,” Zverev told media following the win. “I already knew what I was going to tell my coach. I already knew what I was going to tell my hitting partner. I already knew what I was going to tell my physical trainer. I was going to give them so much—expletive, rhymes with “hit”—you can’t imagine.”

Although No. 4 seed Zverev won that match, Griekspoor was a lowly No. 26. The struggle did not bode well for Zverev’s chances going forward, yet here he is—prepping for Sunday’s championship, and playing for all the marbles against No. 3 seed Carlos Alcaraz.

Sure, this will be a big ask. But critical matches are not terra incognita for Zverev. Some wonder why the 6'6" German with the flamethrower arm hasn’t won a Grand Slam tournament yet. Others ask, “How did this guy not win one?”

Zverev has played eight Grand Slam semifinals, including Friday’s masterful dismissal of No. 7 seed and two-time Roland Garros finalist Casper Ruud. But he had only advanced to the final once previously, in 2020’s bizarro-world, Covid-19 US Open. This trip to the final also transpired under unusual and perhaps even less pleasant circumstances.

While Zverev was busy these two weeks walloping serves, a gold medallion swinging round his neck like a medieval morning star, a court in Berlin was hearing the domestic abuse case brought against him by an ex-girlfriend and the mother of his child, Brenda Patea. Just hours before Zverev and Ruud began their match (Zverev won in four sets, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2), Berlin District Court announced that the assault case had been settled and the charges had been dropped.

Thus Zverev will have no criminal record, but he will reportedly pay €200,000 ($218,000) in fines. The bulk of the money goes to the German state treasury, and the rest to non-profit organizations because Patea had requested an end to the trial.

Zverev is already guaranteed $706,356 for reaching the semis in Paris.

Whatever else this tournament has been or still will be, it has shaped up as the Vindication Slam for Zverev, the 27-year-old native of Hamburg with the somewhat checkered past. Of course, the first question in Zverev’s post-match presser touched on the news from Berlin.

“Yeah, nothing else more to say,” Zverev said. “That's it. Four years. I'm happy about that. . .Done. We move on. I never ever want to hear another question about the subject again. That goes out to everybody.”

This isn’t a fairy tale ending for Zverev just yet, but he will probably feel buoyant going into his clash with Alcaraz. While Alcaraz is a formidable rival, Zverev has been taking the racquet out of the hands of opponents with his overpowering serve. Going into the match, Zverev was converting nearly 75 percent of his first serves, with rockets often approaching or exceeding 130 m.p.h. He cracked 19 aces against Ruud, and smacked 54 winners—20 more than his Norwegian opponent. He also had one less unforced error (24) than Ruud.

This has been an eventful, unpredictable week for Zverev. Rafael Nadal, the 14-time Roland Garros champion, was not even seeded this year due to having missed so much time. When the draw was made, everyone held their breath anticipating his first match-up. Zverev’s name came up. Instead of lamenting his misfortune, he sucked in his gut and said, “I wanted to play Rafa again in my career and in his career because I didn't want my last memory of me playing against Rafa to be me leaving the court on a wheelchair.”

The reference was to their 2022 semifinal on Court Philippe Chatrier in the house that Rafa built. Zverev was giving Nadal all he could handle, trailing 7-6 (8), 6-6, when he took a terrible spill and damaged ankle ligaments—a mishap that required surgery. A further complication kept him sidelined until the final month of 2023.

Closing the deal on Sunday would give Zverev enormous satisfaction but, he said, it isn’t just about the outcomes.

“It's the last years,” he said, “It's as simple as that. Going from the US Open final [of 2020] where I was two points away [from winning] to, you know, being rolled off in a wheelchair here two years ago. It's all a path of my journey.”

It has been a winding, controversy-riddled journey at that. Zverev exploded into the limelight in 2017. Still a teenager, he bagged two ATP Tour titles and rode that boomer of a serve to an upset of Roger Federer before turning 20. Zverev was unable to compete in the 2017 season-ending Next Gen exhibition showcasing the best 21-and-under talent in the ATP because, already ranked No. 4 in the world, he qualified for a place in the elite eight-man field of the ATP World Finals.

This was, all acknowledged, a rare talent. But with the Big Three still very much in the hunt at that time, Zverev was—like everyone else—held at bay. He seemed to be going stale. Then came Covid-19, and a bad case of the service yips.

The pandemic did little to endear Zverev to anyone. Among other things, he took part in the ill-fated Adria Tour that turned into a superspreader. Although he tested negative, he vowed on social media to isolate—breaking that promise just six days later when he was filmed at a party in a night club, sans mask.

The events at the US Open that year struck many people as a manifestation of karma. Playing in cavernous, empty Arthur Ashe Stadium, Zverev came within two points of winning only to lose to Dominic Thiem. Zverev was shattered. While he played excellent tennis in he ensuing months and won the singles gold medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games, he was still unable to punch through at a major before the 2023 season-ending injury.

“There’s one of two ways to come back from two situations,” Zverev said on Friday, referring to the US Open final and his injury. “You either come back stronger and hungrier. . . Or you kind of go into yourself. You drop mentally a bit, as well. I'm happy that I was the sort of person that took the first path.”

The hiatus due to the ankle injury also allowed Zverev to pause and lift his head, taking stock of where he was heading in the aforementioned “journey.” He was surprisingly calm during the fortnight in Paris. He seemed unfazed by every facet of it, from the Nadal assignment to coming through two grueling five-set challenges to the events taking place in Berlin.

Where did all that come from?

“I think it comes maybe with age,” he said. “It comes with maturity. Also, I told myself that I want to become a different type of player, and different type of role model as well.”

Oddsmakers predict that Zverev will end up a frustrated finalist again, but he isn’t afraid of or worried by that.

“Here I am,” he said. “I want to give myself the best chance, and that's what I'm doing at the end of the day. We'll see how Sunday goes.”