Alexander Zverev had one clear goal in mind coming into this season’s clay swing: To finally end his long wait for a Grand Slam title. Having previously lost three major finals, many felt that he would go down as the best player to not win a Grand Slam. However, Zverev proved all his critics wrong by clinching the French Open title last week after a dramatic five-set final against Flavio Cobolli. Even after achieving his lifelong dream, he has no plans of slowing down anytime soon.

With a Grand Slam, an Olympic gold and 24 other ATP titles under his belt, Zverev has become one of the most successful players of his generation. But there is still one more thing that he wants to tick off from his bucket list, and he is willing to play for another ten years to achieve the feat.

“I want to keep playing for another ten years,” he said in an interview with the German Publication Bild. “I’ve already achieved the Grand Slam goal, and the only thing I’m missing is being number one in the world. Even if it’s just for a week, that would be nice. Although with the competition there is, it will be very difficult.

“I enjoy working out. I like going to the gym. If I quit tennis today, I’d still train because I love it. Yes, winning this title was a huge motivation, but it wasn’t the reason I was working so hard. I enjoy doing it. If I don’t train, I don’t feel good. That doesn’t mean I’m going to win Wimbledon in a few weeks, but I certainly won’t stop working or lose my desire to train,” he added.

Overall, it proved to be an unbelievable clay swing for Zverev. He started strong by reaching the semis in Monte Carlo and Munich and followed it up by reaching the final of the Madrid Masters, where he had come up on the losing side against Jannik Sinner. A last 16 exit in Rome may have been quite unexpected, but the German had saved his best for the French Open.

Zverev’s triumph in Paris has left him with a great opportunity to surpass Carlos Alcaraz as the world number 2 on the rankings. The Spaniard is set to lose a massive number of points following his withdrawal from the grass swing. He will lose 500 points for skipping the HSBC Championships and will then drop 1300 points for not playing Wimbledon.

Zverev currently sits third with 7,305 points. If Alcaraz drops points as expected, Zverev could claim second place if he goes on a run at Wimbledon. This is because he had been eliminated in the first round last year and won’t have a lot of points to defend.

The World No. 3 is set to begin his grass swing with the Terra Wortmann Open that will commence on June 15. Zverev’s victory in Paris will also be celebrated through a ceremony on Sunday.

Alexander Zverev set to be honored in Halle following French Open triumph

A ceremony will be held in honor of Zverev at the Center Court a day before the Terra Wortmann Open commences. The German is set to play in his home country for the first time since his victory at Roland Garros, and the tournament organizers want to make this moment special for him.

Together with Sven Wortmann, DTB President Dietloff von Arnim, and Tournament Director Ralf Weber will honor Alexander Zverev for winning his first Grand Slam. Following the ceremony, he will have an autograph session with fans who will be present at the venue.

Despite having participated in the tournament throughout his career, Zverev has never clinched the title in Halle. He had made it to the final in 2016 and 2017 but had lost on both occasions.

The 29-year-old will be brimming with confidence as he enters the tournament and will be hoping to finally claim victory in his home event. He will begin his campaign with the clash against Vit Kopriva in the first round.