Alexander Zverev's 2024 Rome Championship Speech | 2024 Rome Final

Alexander, your first major title in 2017 here, your champion again. Well done. Buongiorno everyone, my name is Yannick. Buongiorno, il mio nome è Yannick. Scherzo, ovviamente. Not yet. No, look, first of all, this is one very, very special moment for me and I think for everybody who's around me. The last two years have been extremely difficult, coming from an injury that I didn't know whether I was ever going to be on this stage, regardless of winning or losing, so this moment is extremely special and the first people that I want to thank is my team because without them, the last two years, I don't know where I would be. I would definitely not be a champion here. Il primo ringraziamento che voglio fare al mio team perché negli ultimi due anni è stato molto duro con un infortunio così importante che non sapevo come sarebbe andata, quindi i primi a ringraziare sono loro perché mi hanno permesso di essere qui. I think the sacrifice that everybody's making for us to have these kind of trophies and for us to simply be standing on these kind of courts and playing this level is incredible from everyone, so I want to thank everyone who's sitting there and also a lot of people that are not sitting in my box today that are behind the scenes, they're equally as important, so yeah, this trophy is for everyone at home. Il sacrificio e il lavoro che è fatto da tutto il team dietro le scene tutti i giorni per permettermi di essere io poi su questo campo in questo tipo di scenario e veramente questo premio è tutto per loro. I'm not so emotional. My dad cries, I don't cry. It's a good mix. No, but I want to congratulate Nico. Unbelievable week. I mean, the players that you beat and the way that you beat them is incredible. I told you at the net already, if you continue playing like this, this is not going to be the last chance and I'm pretty sure that you're going to be standing with one of these very soon and you're an incredible player. You improve every single year, every single season and yeah, I want to congratulate you on once again reaching a milestone. Il tuo livello di gioco sta salendo in modo incredibile e sono sicuro che il tuo lavoro e quello del tuo team uno di questi giorni sarai tu al mio posto ad avere quel trofeo nelle mani. Quindi, congratulazioni. Then of course, the people behind the player, the coach, the physios, the family, the grandfather who is here as well. I think everybody is equally important. You have a fantastic family, beautiful to see and I want to congratulate you guys as well. Hai una famiglia veramente meravigliosa. Ovviamente lì c'è tutta la famiglia, la tua moglie, i tuoi figli. Anche tuo nonno è qui con noi e veramente voglio congratulare anche loro perché sono parte integrante di questo team. It's just amazing to be around and to see the joy of everybody. It makes life on tour maybe a bit easier for everybody else as well. This is a fantastic example of what a family life on tour can look like. È meraviglioso vedere questa gioia che c'è nel tour e anche per noi è più facile poi stare in giro vedendo delle famiglie così con tanta gioia. Then of course I want to thank everybody who makes this tournament possible. The Lions people, the ball kids, term directors, sponsors, everybody who contributes to this tournament. Also the people that do this beautiful court who spend the whole year taking care of it. I think these are all things that you don't see. They're all behind the scenes but they're very important to hold such a big tournament and such a prestigious event and it makes it very special to play. E voglio ringraziare anche tutti i giudici di linea, ovviamente raccattapalle, anche quelli che mantengono questo campo veramente bellissimo e tutti quelli che non si vedono, che sono dietro le scene che però fanno sì che questo sia un torneo eccezionale. Quindi voglio ringraziare tutti loro. Of course the best always comes for last. I want to thank everybody who came out the last ten days. This is a place where there's very little places where I feel the love like I feel here. The crowd support for me has been absolutely incredible. I love this tournament. I love this city. It's always one of the most special feelings to walk out on the center court and to play in front of all of you guys. This is not a joke. I really do feel Italian for this week and that's all thanks to you. So thank you very much. It's really something incredible every time I play. This week, but often when I'm here at the International Biennale d'Italia, I feel Italian. It's not a joke. Thank you.