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Alexander Zverev has opened up about an unusual source of frustration involving his father, Alexander Zverev Sr., at the Canadian Open. His father, who also serves as his coach, is currently with him in Toronto.
After a disappointing first-round exit at Wimbledon, Zverev headed to the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca to regroup and train. He spent valuable time there working with Toni Nadal and even Rafael Nadal himself, sparking speculation that Toni could potentially join his coaching team in the future.
The German then headed to Hamburg before flying to Toronto for the ATP Masters 1000 event. Just before his campaign began, he joined John Isner, Sam Querrey, and Steve Johnson on their Nothing Major podcast. Alexander Zverev jokingly revealed that their family dog, Lovik, had traveled to Toronto with his father, and now most of his dad’s attention during training was focused on the dog rather than him.
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"I am quite pissed about that to be honest," he said (at 36:00). "The older dog, Lovik, he is dad's dog. So, when mom arrived, the son of Lovik, who we also have, went to my mom. They drove my dad to the airport and Lovik wouldn't let go of my dad when my dad had to fly to Canada. So, he just brought him here with him to Canada. Now he has a dog with him every single practice that we go to."
"Lovik sits on his lap while I am training and he is not coaching me because he is busy with the dog so he has to give him water and ice towels and stuff like that. I am like, 'How the hell did you do that? The dogs were supposed to come to Cincinnati with my mom. Just leave them there,'" he added.
Lovik, a poodle, has been a longtime member of the Zverev family and even has a son who mostly stays with Zverev’s mother. The World No. 3 also adopted a terrier mix puppy named Pop in 2019 after visiting a local animal shelter in Miami.
Alexander Zverev looking for redemption at Canadian Open
Alexander Zverev began the 2025 season on a strong note, reaching the Australian Open final before falling to Jannik Sinner. However, he struggled to maintain that momentum. Although he managed to capture the BMW Open title, a string of early exits from Grand Slams and other key tournaments dampened his motivation, as he himself admitted.
Zverev is now focused on redeeming his season and has made a solid start at the Canadian Open. With Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz absent, he is the top seed and has already defeated Adam Walton and 32nd seed Matteo Arnaldi to book his place in the fourth round.
The German will next face 14th seed Francisco Cerúndolo on Saturday, August 2. It promises to be a real test, as Zverev trails 0-3 in their head-to-head, with the most recent defeat coming at the Madrid Masters earlier this year.
