The Japan Times - Zverev hungry for Wimbledon glory after Paris breakthrough

Zverev shattered Fery's hopes of becoming the first wildcard to reach a Wimbledon title match in 25 years, powering to a 7-6 (7/0), 6-2, 6-4 victory in the semi-final on Centre Court.

The German second seed will face defending champion Jannik Sinner in Sunday's final, when he can become the seventh man in the Open era to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon back to back.

Having finally banished his unwanted tag as the best player of his generation never to win a Grand Slam, Zverev has taken his game to another level at Wimbledon over the last fortnight, proving his thirst for success is unquenched by his Paris triumph.

Zverev's Wimbledon run is a stark contrast to Dominic Thiem, who beat the German to win his first major at the 2020 US Open but failed to make a single Grand Slam quarter-final since.

"I think it's very individual. I think different people, I think Dominic Thiem, in particular, he put his whole life and soul into winning that Slam," Zverev said.

"He came back from two sets to love down against me in the US Open. I think it was such a relief for him that it was maybe a bit too much of a relief mentally.

"For me, I stay focused. I stay hungry. I want more. I want to continue playing at the best level and continue winning. I hope I'm able to do that, and again on Sunday I have another big chance."

- 'You have this feeling inside' -

After failing to get past the last 16 in nine visits prior to this year, the 29-year-old is on the brink of becoming the first German man to win Wimbledon since Michael Stich in 1991.

Zverev is the first male German finalist at Wimbledon since Boris Becker in 1995.

Asked if he felt liberated by his French Open final win over Flavio Cobolli, Zverev said: "Yes, one thing, for sure, once you win a major you know how to do it and you feel like you can do it again. You have this feeling inside of you.

"The second thing, I feel like I worked on my game a lot. I feel like my game has improved. Sometimes in sports it's as simple as that.

"When you improve your forehand, when you improve your backhand, when you improve your serve, when you improve your return, you're going to win more matches.

"You can talk about mental stuff, you can talk about, I certain situations, coaching changes, whatever. But if you improve as a player and you make the decision as a player to improve, you're going to do better in tournaments."

Just 12 months ago, Zverev suffered an embarrassing Wimbledon first-round exit against Arthur Rinderknech.

His improvement on grass since then cannot be understated.

"A year ago I lost first round, so I would say so probably," he said of the turnaround.

Facing world number one Sinner, who brushed aside Djokovic in straight sets in the semi-finals, will be the ultimate test.

"Jannik has won Wimbledon last year. Again, I think the serve-return patterns are going to be very, very important," he said.

M.Yamazaki--JT