Alexander Zverev explains how Carlos Alcaraz’s injury could affect Jannik Sinner

After his victory, Alexander Zverev was asked at his press conference who he believed posed the biggest threat to his chances of winning the Italian Open.

Beyond Sinner, he said: “There’s young guys who are playing great tennis. Prizmic is definitely one of them that is playing great tennis. There are the guys that we know about. It will be very interesting between Musetti and Cerundolo, two very good players on the clay court.

“I’m going to go match by match. That’s the most important thing, not to look too far ahead, focus on the things that you can control.

“Last week Blockx was in the semifinals. He beat everybody. He bet Casper Ruud, Felix, all the favourites to go to the semifinal. In tennis you never know. Each week is different. I just focus on the opponents that are in front of me.”

Zverev also pointed out how Alcaraz’s absence changes things for Jannik Sinner more than anyone else.

He added: “I mean, I think the biggest difference is probably makes for Jannik because he’s now really, really the heavy favorite. Carlos on a clay court when he’s healthy, equal or even above Jannik in favoritism just purely on a clay court, especially at Roland Garros, being a two-time champion there already.

‘But for me, I got to focus on the things that I can control and try to improve again to try to beat Jannik. That’s an important thing.

“Getting there is also important right? You can’t talk about someone you might face in finals before winning your first six matches.

“For me again it’s about focusing on opponents in front of me at this moment.”

Alexander Zverev battles illness to impress against Alexander Blockx

Even though he was still feeling the effects of an illness that impacted his opening match, Zverev put in a strong showing against Blockx.

In the first set, he completely overpowered the young Belgian. He played with confidence and looked sharp from the baseline.

Zverev also had success moving forward. He won 75% of his points at the net, showing how effective that approach could be.

Beating Sinner will still require something extra, and Zverev hasn’t managed to find it in their recent meetings.

Still, given how well he played today despite not being fully fit, there’s reason to believe this tournament might be where things start to shift in his favour.