Alexander Zverev is going through a very important moment in his career. The German champion has achieved excellent results and is a top player for many years, but still lacks the momentum to finally win a Grand Slam title. The world number 2 has the right weapons to win a Major title, but for several reasons it has not yet achieved this feat. After the retirement of Roger Federer, the injuries of Rafael Nadal and the physiological decline of Novak Djokovic, fans and insiders thought that Sascha would triumph in a Grand Slam.
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However, the rise of young talents such as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner has hampered his efforts. The German reached two Grand Slam finals during his career, at the US Open 2020 and the French Open 2024 respectively. In New York, he was defeated by Dominic Thiem in a tense final, where Zverev had several chances to lift the trophy. This year at Roland Garros he was ahead by two sets to one against Alcaraz in the final, but ended up giving up in the fifth set.
Roger Federer warns Zverev
Alexander had a great chance at the 2024 US Open, thanks to the premature elimination of Djokovic and Alcaraz in the first week. Sascha had become the top favourite for the win along with Sinner, but he did not manage well the pressure playing a horrible match against Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals. The feeling is that the German champion has not yet reached full maturity. His tennis becomes passive in the moments of huge tension and the results do not come in the Majors.
Before the start of the 2024 edition of the Laver Cup, Swiss legend and 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer identified Zverevs main problem: I see someone who plays too defensively in the most important moments of the matches. He has to remember that he doesnt have to be too passive and I think then, honestly, something really great can happen to him.
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For example, against Fritz at the US Open, he was too passive. I think something great can happen to him. But he must believe in it and work on it. He must feel at every stage of his body that this is the right way. Thats my point. Thats not to say its true. He knows what goes on in his head when he steps back a little bit on the ground.
Sascha showed all his limits at the 2024 US Open, where he did not manage well the nerves and pressure by showing a performance full of unforced errors against Fritz. The 2024 of the German is satisfactory until this moment, having been very consistent and having won the Masters 1000 in Rome in spring.
Too many missedchances
In a recent interview with Eurosport, WTA legend Justine Henin takes a shot at Alexander: Zverev is a disappointment. There were expectations. For me, its mainly the manner. I found him extremely defensive. At one point, you say to yourself that to win a Grand Slam, and he came close to doing it at Roland Garros and at the same time so far, he has to dare even more.
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Against Fritz in New York, I saw him fall back into his old ways. I think there are strong decisions to make to win a Grand Slam tournament, particularly on calendar issues. It was his 73rd match of the season! He can highlight his backhand that let him down, but for me it goes further than that. And at some point, you have to save yourself and find your peak form, Djokovic is the master in this area.
There are a lot of things that Zverev has to work on, even if he has come back after his serious injury and he is very consistent he will be second in the world. But at the same time, he had a golden opportunity here to at least reach the final and he couldnt take it, so its a big disappointment a priori.
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The champion from Hamburg is the closest player to Jannik Sinner in the ATP ranking, but he has a gap of over 4,000 points and almost no chance of becoming world number one by the end of this year. Sascha will try to close the season well in the tournaments on the indoor hard court, which fit very well with his style. Zverev will have a major focus on the Nitto ATP Finals, a tournament he won in 2018 and 2021. Meanwhile, the German ace will try to help Team Europe win the 2024 edition of the Laver Cup in Berlin this weekend.
