Andre Agassi’s joke had some history behind it. After losing his Grand Slam final at the 2025 Australian Open, Alexander Zverev was brutally hard on himself during the runner-up ceremony, saying he was “just not good enough” and questioning whether he would ever lift a major trophy. Almost a month later, he said he “regretted” his remarks, adding, “I still believe that I can and I will win a Grand Slam this year”. He had been feeling extremely down, and both remarks were a vulnerable display from Zverev. He eventually won not one but two Grand Slam titles in 2026. Yet another piece of unfinished business was waiting in London.

So, now that Zverev has reclaimed the Laver Cup title with a dominant 13-5 victory against Team World on the final day of competition at the O2 Arena, Agassi did what he does best.

“Congratulations, Sascha (Zverev), on the crazy year,” he said after the match. “Seeing you win for the first time, I know how important that was to you. It was important to me too because I could start listening to your press conferences again, where you weren’t like, ‘I always lose. I’m third best in the world, I suck.’ But then you win, and it’s like, ‘I’m only a one Slam champion, I’d have to do it again.'”

Zverev has practically grown up on the Laver Cup stage. He made his debut at the inaugural edition in Prague in 2017 and has since become one of the competition’s most reliable figures, both in appearances and wins. By the time he returned to The O2 in London in 2026, he had already been part of Team Europe’s victorious campaigns in Prague, Chicago, Geneva, Boston and Berlin.

He was only 20 when that journey began. And for a long time, many thought his career would have to carry an uncomfortable footnote. Enormous talent, a place among the world’s elite, but no Grand Slam title to show for it.

At the 2020 US Open, Zverev let a two-set advantage slip away against Dominic Thiem in the final. Four years later, another opportunity disappeared at Roland Garros when Carlos Alcaraz came back from a two-sets-to-one deficit to beat him in the championship match.

That part of the story, though, has finally disappeared. Zverev broke through at Roland Garros before adding another major at the US Open just three months later.

Winning in Paris for him was extra special. It was on those same clay courts in 2022 that Zverev suffered one of the most frightening injuries of his career, tearing all three lateral ligaments in his right ankle during his semifinal against Rafael Nadal. He left the court in a wheelchair, with his immediate future in tennis suddenly uncertain.

When Zverev arrived back in London for the 2026 Laver Cup, there was again a lot at stake. He was a six-time competitor and the event’s all-time leading points scorer, and he also had something to settle. Team Europe had been beaten by Team World in San Francisco the previous year, handing Zverev the first Laver Cup defeat of his career.

“I haven’t won a Laver Cup match in two years, so I’m happy I did it today,” Zverev said. “Massive credit to the entire Team World. They pushed us all the way again. They were champions last year. This year, I think we had a great team. We have a great team chemistry. It was a team effort.”

“Winning as a team — there’s no better feeling in sports. We don’t have enough of it in tennis. Being among these great players you normally see across the net every single week, it’s just fun being out here.”

Perhaps, though, Zverev has already stumbled into an unusual way of keeping the biggest moments from becoming too big. After beating American Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 in the US Open final, Zverev barely celebrated when match point was over, which appeared pretty strange for a player who had just won his second Grand Slam of the year. But there was a surprisingly simple reason; Zverev had forgotten the score.

Agassi, hence, might have to keep revisiting previous press conferences to poke some fun at the German. In fact, Zverev is now refusing to be distracted by No.1 talks.

Following Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal from the China Open, Zverev has a clear opportunity to close the gap at the top of the ATP rankings.

Sinner currently leads the way with 11,000 ranking points under his belt. Zverev is right behind him with 9,630 points, with a gap of 1,370 points. But having won the title last year, Sinner will lose the 500 points he earned in Beijing in 2025. If Zverev wins the China Open, then the gap between the two could come down to less than 900 points. The Shanghai Masters follows immediately after Beijing, with another 1,000 ranking points available to the champion.

Zverev, however, just wants to play “good tennis” for now.

“It doesn’t matter. The conversations are there right now. Especially with the question marks that Jannik has a little bit health-wise,” Zverev said to Sky Sports. “ I’m just focusing on doing my job.”

That said, Zverev was the one to land the final blow to Team World on the final day of the Laver Cup. Team Europe started off the day on a high as the duo of Flavio Cobolli and Jakub Mensik defeated Alex de Minaur and Taylor Fritz 7-5, 6-3. Zverev then took the court against Learner Tien and racked up a 7-6, 6-3 victory to secure Team Europe’s triumph.

This was Zverev’s first singles win of the tournament. He had previously suffered a 2-6, 7-6, 11-9 defeat to de Minaur on the second day. Both he and Casper Ruud then recorded an important 6-4, 7-6 victory against Brandon Nakashima and Alexander Bublik.