Tennis icon Andre Agassi has sent a warning to Alexander Zverev about a “dirty little secret” he learned after winning his first Grand Slam title.
World No 3 Zverev defeated Flavio Cobolli in a tension-filled five-set championship match at Roland Garros last week.
The 29-year-old German’s triumph ended his wait to win his maiden major title after he had lost Slam finals at the 2020 US Open, the 2024 French Open and the 2025 Australian Open.
Like Zverev, Agassi lost the first three Grand Slam finals he played (French Open in 1990 and 1991 and US Open in 1990) before winning his fourth (at Wimbledon in 1992).
Speaking on TNT Sports’ Roland Garros coverage, Agassi asserted that winning changed “nothing” in terms of pressure after making his major breakthrough.
“You can win a Slam… does it really change your life? You can say it, it’s easy to say, but I don’t know if it does,” said the former world No 1.
“We have had a lot of one Slam wonders, that have done some incredible — I’m sure they’re thrilled they won.
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“When I finally got over the finish line [and won my first Grand Slam], I was let in on a dirty little secret: that winning changes nothing.
“You are gonna to have that pressure again if you have more expectations from yourself. So you gotta deal with it, you gotta bring it on Sunday like you did at the start of the tournament.”
During the event, Agassi praised Zverev for consistently reaching the latter stages of majors.
“He deserves a lot of credit for always having a say at the end of these events,” said the American.
“Come rain or shine, the guy is there – if you get enough looks, it’s going to happen.
“There’s no doubt that winning a Slam is a binary moment in a player’s career.
“There are people that have one and there are people that don’t have them. To a large degree, you have to respect his fortitude of all the years, coming up short but always putting himself in position.”
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