Ivan Ljubicic seemingly had a good laugh after hearing Alexander Zverev say that he “would have beaten Rafael Nadal” if not for an unfortunate injury. On Monday, Zverev was asked by Eurosport whether he would have beaten Nadal in their French Open semifinal if he stayed healthy and finished the match.
Zverev said he “did not want to sound arrogant” but answered with a yes. In the end, Nadal won a record 14th French Open title after beating Casper Ruud 6-3 6-3 6-0. “Nobody wants to sound arrogant but everyone is claiming to have almost won Roland Garros last year (laughing emoji).
Love it!! On with trash talk!!” Ljubicic tweeted.
Nobody wants to sound arrogant but everyone is claiming to have almost won Roland Garros last year ð. Love it!! On with trash talk!! ð¶ï¸ — Ivan Ljubicic (@theljubicic) April 11, 2023
Ljubicic seemingly shades Zverev over the Nadal comments
Zverev and Nadal were playing for over three hours without completing the second set when the German’s injury occurred.
At the time of the injury, Nadal won the first set with a 7-6 (8) score and the second set was tied to six games apiece. In an interview with Eurosport, Zverev said he was feeling extremely confident and believed he could beat Nadal.
“For some reason I did. I don’t want to sound arrogant. Rafa is obviously the best player to ever play on that surface so you never know what happens. You never know what happens in that match as well. If I don’t get injured, of course I [could have lost] that match.
Of course, he can go on to win his 14th Grand Slam. But I felt like I was playing my best tennis that I’ve ever played on that surface. So for some reason, I did feel like I could at least compete with him, which I was doing.
The outcome of the match obviously, always depends on little factors as well. But I did feel like that could have been the week for me,” Zverev told Eurosport.
