Alexander Zverev was delighted to win his first big trophy at this year's Italian Open, since his ankle injury.
This isn't the first trophy Zverev has won since returning to tennis last year, but it's the first ATP Masters 1000 trophy he won. It came after a solid week in Rome, where nobody really talked about the German until the semi-final.
When Stefanos Tsitsipas was ousted by Nicolas Jarry, Zverev remained the lone big name in the draw, and he backed it up on the courts. He bested Jarry in the event's final to lift the trophy, and he was very happy about it.
Speaking to the media after the final, Zverev admitted that the run proved to him that he can still win big trophies.
"Very different because obviously the first one is extremely special always. But in a way, when I was young, I was extremely confident. I was thinking, Okay, it's going to come at some point. After the injury, I was not sure whether it's going to come or not."
Obviously, Zverev never forgot how to play tennis, but some doubts developed after such a major injury. We've seen many players struggle to find themselves after suffering a major injury, and he certainly didn't want to be another one.
Generally, though, nothing is guaranteed, and until he finally won it, he didn't know if it would happen again.
"This one is special in its own way because it proves me that I can win these kind of tournaments again. I'm at the level where I want to be. Moving forward, I can dream again. This is what this week brings me."
Having now won a Masters, Zverev knows that he can still do it, and that's going to do wonders for his confidence, especially ahead of Roland Garros, where he's been really spectacular in recent years.
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