Alexander Zverev has had an excellent season, in which he has shown that he has definitely returned to the highest level after the serious ankle injury he suffered in 2022. Although he has not yet managed to break the curse in Grand Slam tournaments, the German champion has had impressive consistency this year and only Jannik Sinner has won more matches than him from January until today.
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It was precisely this great regularity that allowed Sascha to close 2024 as world number 2, surpassing Carlos Alcaraz thanks to his victory at the Rolex Paris Masters. The player from Hamburg won the seventh Masters 1000 title of his career, the second this season after the triumph in Rome during the spring.
There were high expectations on Zverev at the Nitto ATP Finals as well, but his run in Turin ended against Taylor Fritz in the semifinals. The German had impressed on the group stage by defeating Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud and Carlitos Alcaraz without losing a single set, but his demons struck him in the semifinals.
Fritz knows Sascha's weaknesses well and exploited them during the semifinal, especially in the decisive tiebreak, in which the German made too many unforced errors. The world number 2 will have to take a further step in terms of managing nerves and pressure to win a Major title in 2025, otherwise this curse will continue to last.
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Although he has had a brilliant season, several fans and insiders believe that Sascha does not deserve to occupy the second position in the ATP ranking. Zverev precedes Alcaraz, who won two Grand Slam titles in 2024 and became the youngest to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year (he also won the Indian Wells Masters 1000 for the second time in a row).
A glitch in the system
The German champion has been more consistent throughout the year, especially in recent tournaments, in which the Spaniard has struggled to play his best tennis.
On the latest edition of the Inside-In podcast, top coach Paul Annacone expressed his point of view about this topic: "In my opinion, Sascha Zverev's had an amazing year. The points don't lie. He played an unbelievable amount of tennis but if you win two majors and you're not ranked two in the world, that to me says that there's a glitch in the system.
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The German player has reached at least the round of 16 in all Masters 1000 played in 2024, further evidence of his regularity at the highest level. Sascha has only lacked the high point in Grand Slam tournaments, in which he played the semifinals at the Australian Open and the final at the French Open. Alexander's goal is precisely to break this curse next year.
For this reason, the German has decided to skip the 2024 edition of the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga. The world No. 2 will begin training early and begin the new season at the United Cup, which will be his only event before the 2025 Australian Open. The German champion will be the No. 2 seed in Melbourne, which is why he will not be able to face Jannik Sinner before the final.
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Sascha on his 2024 season
After the loss against Fritz at the ATP Finals in Turin, Sascha commented on his season: I played some fantastic matches. Ive won 65 matches, something like that. Its been an interesting year for me, especially after the injury. It was kind of my first year completely back competing at this level and competing for big tournaments. I won two Masters events.
Alexander continued: But what stays in mind I think are the tough losses that you had. What will stay in my mind is the Australian Open loss against Daniil, the French Open final against Carlos. Those are the matches that stay in my mind.
You can trust me, Im going to do everything I can to be back in the same moments, in the same position next year. Im going to do everything I can to win.
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The German could have done more in some important matches this year and certainly has regrets, especially for not winning a Grand Slam title. However, Sascha has shown some noticeable progress in recent weeks by improving his attitude on court. Zverev has become more aggressive from baseline and not only waits for his opponents' errors, but has learned to take the initiative in rallies and be more courageous.
Thanks to his serve and his excellent shots from the baseline, Zverev is able to win on all surfaces. The German ace does not have the peaks of Sinner and Alcaraz, but he is working very hard to get to those levels as he himself admitted.
