[Claybot]

During a 1st round interview, Sasha Zverev promised to donate 10.000$ to the bushfire cause for every win he would make on the 2020 edition of the Australian Open.
He also promised to donate all of his prize money, a total amount of around 4 million dollars, would he win the whole thing.

Now, I've been watching his most recent on-court and press conference interviews, where the question was lifted once again, and Zverev assured that the promise was still on. According to him, his family educated him to relativize the value of money, and that money should be used to help those in need.

But he, even apparently joking, also said things like: "Man, it's so easier to make a promise like that when you're on the first round"; "Oh, I could buy such nice things with that money, I could buy some cars..."; "Of course it's a lot of money for me, I'm not Roger, I'm not Rafa..."

Now, I'm not doubting myself that Sasha Zverev is a great human being, and is more than happy to help those affected by the Australian Bushfires, but let's be honest: no one, probably himself included, would ever believe he could be a match away from the final. And there's a chance that a hidden part of him regretted to make that promise. Of course, weaseling out would make him one of the biggest villains in the history of the sport. He could never do that. But if he had the chance to go back in time, would he take it back?

A potential final would result in him donating either 60k or 4 million! That is a huge difference! So...will a deep, dark subconscious part of Zverev hold him back during a final? Or is he the purest of human beings who, in fact, doesn't really care about donating 4 million to the cause?

 

[NextGenKing]

He cares about winning he would happily pay 4 million for a slam. He would win many more. He needs this and is prepared to take the hit

 

[Bella&Mirka]

Quite an interesting theory actually; no one would seriously expect him to donate the full amount and if he was a proven Slam contender I doubt he would have said it. Might have a subconscious effect on him, not that I would back him in a Slam final anyway.

 

[Virtualmorpher]

I think, regardless of whether or not he's a "pure human being", he's too competitive to hold back for the sake of retaining a couple millions, which he can recoup easily enough for the rest of the year or two.

 

[hg31]

No, he won't. He said that he cares for titles. They are important to him and that's why he'll try everything to win the AO. He doesn't care about money, probably because he always had more than enough. He's a very lucky guy in this regard, but at least he acknowledges this and seems to be really generous.

 

[Servebots=GOAT]

4 million ain’t that much for him, he can easily rack that up in less than a year. Even so, I’m sure he’s more concerned about the people and animals in need than money especially considering he already has millions of dollars.

 

[Fedjokodal]

4 million ain’t that much for him, he can easily rack that up in less than a year.

Would you donate your annual salary?

 

[Cloren]

This is a ridiculous notion. He won’t hold back at all, as the AO title would mean far more than 4 million to him

 

[IBM]

That South America tour with Fed gained him probably the double of what he’d gain with an AO win anyway, to use a hyperbole. Why do you think do those people play exhibition matches in Argentina and co. after an exhausting tennis year?

So yeah, he’d better win the Slam than the money

 

[winterishere]

He’s German, so the extra endorsement he can get from a slam win, even if he never achieves anything else, far outweighs his potential runner-up prize money. Even his banker would cheer for him.

 

[Lukasgigler]

Would you donate your annual salary?

If I had already plenty of millions in my bank account and the subject of donation means a lot to me, yeah why not?

 

[Servebots=GOAT]

Would you donate your annual salary?

That’s less than his annual salary and that’s not counting all his sponsorships as well.

 

[Fedjokodal]

If I had already plenty of millions in my bank account and the subject of donation means a lot to me, yeah why not?

That’s less than his annual salary and that’s not counting all his sponsorships as well.

I understand, but it's still a pretty random donation.
Let's say he'll end up making $100 million his entire career in prize money (ignoring sponsorship). If he wins here, he'd be donating about $3 million, or roughly 3% of his entire lifetime earnings.
Sure, he can afford it and remain a very rich man, but I feel like there would be other priorities he might rather spend the money on. Even for good causes, there are plenty of others that are arguably far more pressing (homelessness, famine, disease, etc...)

To be clear: I don't think for a second that he would intentionally lose just to avoid making the donation. But I think it's extremely likely he never seriously thought he'd ever end up winning/donating all this prize money.

 

[Martin12]

Winning this tournament would likely get him more than 4 Mio in the long-term, so certainly no.

 

[zjtennis]

Winning this tournament would likely get him more than 4 Mio in the long-term, so certainly no.

The freaking good will he'll get from Australian business would be a plus, too -- endorsements, for sure.

 

[Servebots=GOAT]

I understand, but it's still a pretty random donation.
Let's say he'll end up making $100 million his entire career in prize money (ignoring sponsorship). If he wins here, he'd be donating about $3 million, or roughly 3% of his entire lifetime earnings.
Sure, he can afford it and remain a very rich man, but I feel like there would be other priorities he might rather spend the money on. Even for good causes, there are plenty of others that are arguably far more pressing (homelessness, famine, disease, etc...)

To be clear: I don't think for a second that he would intentionally lose just to avoid making the donation. But I think it's extremely likely he never seriously thought he'd ever end up winning/donating all this prize money.

Your probably right on that. He probs didn’t think he’d make it far so he didn’t think he’d donate much but I still respect him for what he’s doing.

 

[guitarra]

No way. Who knows how many shots at slams will he get in the future? Maybe none? The future's uncertain and the end is always near.
Then at 40-50-60 years old, as a retired old and embittered multimillionaire he'd sit in a chair and regret forever that missed opportunity.

 

[federernadalfan]

If I was him, 4 million can't be exchanged for winning a slam that is eternal. 4 million can vanish easily.
Hope he is not that foolish.
Plus, I'm sure his sponsors will pay him a significant amount if he does win his first grand slam. He might even win additional sponsors as he is attractive looking.

 

[xdrewitdajx]

It’s obviously a lot of money (percentage wise it’s definitely way more than most people would ever consider donating) and I think people tend to downplay amounts when it’s successful athletes/celebrities, but he obviously made this claim for a reason, he probably would trade that amount for a slam if he could. So if he only made the claim because he never expected to get the chance to win the title, if he doesn’t actually believe, then he probably won’t win anyway.
And if he does win, he’ll give up a lot of money but also get a lot of goodwill out of it, and future earnings...and his maiden slam to boot.
He can’t really lose either way. And I don’t think he’s regretting the promise now that the finish line is a bit more realistic, even though it IS a significant sum
All in all I don’t think it will play a role in how he plays, he knows winning a slam will do much more for him in the long run

 

[Time Violation]

Don't think anyone actually expects him to donate the entire 4 mil. even if he wins, not even the richest have donated nearly as much (individually).