Alexander Zverev came through a serious Roland Garros scare before admitting his performance was so bad he was already planning his holiday.
Zverev faced Sebastian Baez in the second round of the French Open on Wednesday and had to come back from two sets down and save match point before eventually coming through 2-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 7-5.
The number three seed, who is still chasing his maiden major, started atrociously and was broken in his very first service game.
However, he was able to gather himself and slowly work himself back into the match to force a final set that was incredibly tightly contested.
He survived the scare, though, and his dominant emotion afterwards was sympathy for his opponent.
“I told Sebastian this is the worst he will ever feel on the tennis court, this moment,” Zverev said.
“It was such an incredible match. I know this too well – I lost the US Open final from two sets ahead, The next year I won the Olympic Gold and the ATP Tour Finals.
“He’s a great kid. He’s going to do a lot of unbelievable things in this sport.”
Alexander Zverev was asked how he was able to turn the match around, and he replied: “I just tried to fight.
“In those moments you’re not going to play great every single match, and you have to find a way to win this match.
“I’m happy with still being in the tournament right now.
“I was planning my holiday in Monaco, where I’m going to go. That relaxed me a bit, thinking of the beach.
“There’s not much you can do, you just have to find a way. You talk about mental strength, talk about Rafa [Nadal] and Novak [Djokovic].
“I’ll never be on their level but I’m trying got get closer to them.”
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