'One of the greatest challenges that can exist,' Alexander Zverev describes how it feels to play against Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros 

His feet are becoming faster, it is more difficult to disrupt him, especially on Philippe Chatrier, which is a big court, where he has a lot more space. Playing against Nadal on this court is probably one of the greatest challenges that can exist in tennis.  Alexander Zverev said in a press conference 

Zverev faced Nadal in the 2022 French Open semifinal and suffered a serious ankle injury before the completion of the second set. The German expressed his desire to have a different ending by playing against the King of Clay again in an important French Open match. 

Nadal will be playing in Rome and will open his campaign against Zizou Bergs on May 9th. He previously played in Madrid and got knocked out of the Round of 16 by Jiri Lehecka.

Alexander Zverev is not a fan of expanded Masters events 

Alexander Zverev strongly criticized expanded Masters tournaments that don’t give top players time to recharge their batteries. Zverev feels the two-week Masters tournament will help players ranked between 50 and 100 to get the experience of playing a main draw event but not the top-ranked players.

Yes, you do get told you have a day in between, you don't have to play every day. At the end of the day, that's not resting. Resting is when you're spending time at home, sleeping in your own bed, maybe with your family, your dogs, your kids, right?  Alexander Zverev said at the press conference 

Top-ranked players Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have withdrawn from the Rome Open due to injuries. Sinner suffered a hip injury, while Alcaraz injured his arm.

Zverev thinks playing in tournaments one after the other leaves the players no time to recover and rest their bodies, pointing out how it also doesn’t allow them to prepare physically. 

Zverev’s first match in Rome is on May 10. He will be entering the tournament following his fourth-round Madrid Open loss to Francisco Cerundolo.