A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
一个德国人，打了四次决赛才赢
A German Man Who Won Only After Four Finals — Zverev's Roland Garros 2026
About this story
The story of Alexander Zverev's first Grand Slam: four finals across three Slams, a four-hour battle against Italy's Cobolli, and the 'set five' victory that ended an eight-year drought. HSK 2 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 2 Chinese listening episode that runs about 5 minutes. The full Mandarin script is shown with tap-for-pinyin and a line-by-line English translation, so you can listen and read at once — comprehensible input in the sense of Stephen Krashen's i+1 theory. It teaches 14 key vocabulary words such as 觉得、但是、所以 and walks through 7 grammar patterns, each explained in English with examples. The same news story is retold at 4 difficulty levels — use the level selector above to find the version that is challenging but still understandable for you.
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原文Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.
English transcript reference
Today we'll talk about a matter.
It's about a German person.
This German person is called Zverev.
He is twenty-nine years old.
Not too big, not too small.
Do you know him?
It's okay if you don't.
We'll go slowly.
What Zverev does is play tennis.
What is tennis?
Tennis is a kind of ball game.
Two people play together.
One person on this side.
One person on that side.
They hit the ball back and forth.
We see who plays well.
Whoever plays well wins.
This is tennis.
Zverev has played tennis for many, many years.
He plays very well.
He plays many times every year.
When you play, it's also called a 'match'.
A match is two people playing.
We see who wins.
But matches are different.
Some matches are small.
Some matches are big.
The biggest kind of match has the most watchers.
Also the most fans.
To play the biggest match, you have to play for many days.
By the end, only two people are left.
These last two people play one more time.
This last time is called the 'final'.
The final is the last time.
Whoever wins the final is the best.
Zverev has reached the final.
How many times has he reached it?
Four times.
Four times!
But the first three times, he didn't win any of them.
We'll go slowly.
The first final was several years ago.
That time, he didn't win.
He felt unhappy.
But he thought: 'It's okay.
I'll come back next time.'
Later, the second final.
He didn't win again.
He was even more unhappy.
But he still thought: 'Next time.'
Later, the third final.
He almost won.
He played very well.
But in the end, he still didn't win.
This time, he was the most unhappy.
The people who like him were also unhappy.
He himself was thinking inside:
'When will I be able to win?'
'I've played for so many years.
Still can't win a single final.'
He thought this for many years.
Some people felt: maybe he can never win again.
Some people were still waiting for him.
This year, he reached the final once more.
This was the fourth time.
This year's final was in a country called France.
France is a country.
Zverev had been to this place before.
Before, here, he didn't win.
So he knew, here he could also lose.
This year's final was long.
It went on for four hours.
Four hours is long.
Inside the final, he played five small matches.
We call them 'sets'.
Five sets.
Set one, Zverev won.
He played very well.
He thought inside:
'It seems I can win this year.'
But in set two, he didn't win.
He was a little unhappy.
Set three, he won again.
He was a bit happier.
He thought: 'One more set and I've won!'
Set four, almost.
He almost won.
He was just a tiny bit away from winning.
But in the end he didn't win.
He was off by just a little bit.
The person across from him also played very well.
That person is called Cobolli.
Cobolli is not German.
Cobolli is from another country.
Cobolli is twenty-four years old.
He is younger than Zverev.
Today is his first time playing such a big final.
Cobolli also wanted to win.
He didn't want Zverev to win.
He also wanted to win a big final.
The last set, set five.
This set is the most important.
Whoever wins this set wins the final.
Zverev played the best.
Cobolli played not as well anymore.
In the end, Zverev won!
He won the final.
It was his first time winning such a big match.
He waited for many years.
Only today did he win.
He was happy.
The people who like him were all very happy.
At the end he said a sentence.
He said:
'Before, here, I was the most unhappy.
Now, here, I am the happiest.'
Finally, I want to ask you.
Is there something you have done many times and still haven't done well?
Look, he played four finals before he won.
What about you?
You can try again too.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇HSK 2 mental verb. 他觉得不高兴 = he felt unhappy. Anchors the emotional through-line.
HSK 2 contrast connector. Used many times to mark turns: 但是他没有赢.
HSK 2 result connector. 他知道这里也可能输。所以他要小心 = he knew he could lose here too, so he had to be careful.
HSK 2 verb. Emotional anchor: 他等了很多年 = he waited many years.
他打了四次决赛才赢 = he only won after playing four finals.
HSK 3 adjective. 这一局最重要 = this set is the most important.
HSK 1-2. hour.
Glossed inline: 决赛就是最后一次 = the final is the last time. Central concept of the story.
Glossed inline: 两个人一起打，把球打来打去 = two people play, hitting the ball back and forth.
HSK 3 noun. 比赛就是两个人打。看谁赢 = a match is two people playing, see who wins.
HSK 3 time marker. 以前他在这里，没有赢 = before, here, he didn't win.
HSK 3 time connector. 后来，第二次决赛 = later, the second final.
Marks 'almost happened, didn't'. Repeated in set 4 description.
Glossed inline: 决赛里面他打了五次小比赛，我们叫它'局' = in the final he played five small matches, we call them 'sets'.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法Subject + 觉得 + Clause
'X feels / thinks that Y'. Introduces subjective state.
他觉得不高兴。
有的人觉得：他可能再也赢不了。
以前 / 后来 / 现在 (time chain)
Marks time progression: before → later → now. Used to structure the story.
以前他在这里，没有赢。
后来，第二次决赛。
现在我在这里，最高兴。
但是 + Clause / 所以 + Clause
Contrast (但是) and result (所以) connectors.
但是他没有赢。
所以他知道，这里也可能输。
Subject + 差一点 + Verb
'X almost did Y'. Common spoken pattern for near-misses.
第四局，差一点。
他差一点赢。
Comparison: A 比 B + Adj
'A is more Adj than B'. HSK 2 comparison structure.
他比兹维列夫小。
...才 + Verb (only then)
Marks delayed action.
他打了四次决赛才赢。
今天才赢。
什么是 X 呢? + complete answer
Rhetorical question + complete answer pattern. Used to gloss each hard word.
什么是网球呢？网球就是一种球。
什么是大满贯呢？
Proper Nouns
专有名词Free account
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