Does ZVEREV Have a GRAND SLAM In His Future?
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- Excerpt from Served with Andy Roddick Season 2 Episode 4 - Released on 01.28.25.
Andy Roddick and Kim Clijsters talk about Alexander Zverev and his impossible task of matching-up against dominant players like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. What does he need to change? Is he capable of beating these players?
Watch the full episode here: • Full Australian Open R...
You can tell Andy loves this podcast and so do we.
When Zverev spoke about his match with Sinner I felt I'm listening to Roddick speaking about his matches with Federer. It felt like no matter what you do, you will almost always lose the match.
I got that vibe from Demin after he played Sinner.
@@stearrow_3245 True!
@@stearrow_3245 I feel so sad for Demon. Just nothing he does seems to trouble Sinner.
@@ellenday2155 I think he said in his post match interview that in slower conditions he really struggles to attack Sinner at all. Demin can't generate enough power to consistently drive him off the baseline so he just sends up playing the same point again and again.
Reminds me of when Andy used to play Federer. Roger gets the ball onto Andy's backhand, Andy goes crosscourt, Roger drops slice short/spins it wide, Andy approaches or has or hit a backhand up the line. Roger passes or hits a winner into the open court.
@stearrow_3245 Demons strength is his speed/returning. He can beat most players just running around like that, but Sinner matches him in that and is much taller/hits harder, so he's basically an impossible match up. Ditto Djokovic for now. Dont know about his record vs Carlos but seems he could actually be a little less helpless against him.
I swear Andy you and Johnny Mac are two of the best analysts of the technical and tactical nuances of tennis. Coach or commentator I would love to see it.
Yeah. Hearing Andy and someone like JM as well (I agree) break stuff down just makes you understand how smart, intellectually, all the players are and have to be to have reached the top. But what sets some of them apart is their capability as pure communicators, where yes, Andy and JM are further talented.
John McEnroe?!?
Literally the worst commentator and analyst out there. All his remarks are bleeding obvious, has never heard of players outside top 20.
You need to watch more tennis, my gosh
@ strong opinions loosely held😝
@@heykraizelburd i'm with you on this. JM is awful, AR is in a different league.
Zverev should get credit for being one of the most resilient players out there. The way he came back from his injury and the way he made his way to the top, despite having to manage t1 diabetes is a incredible. People forget what an extra challenge it is to have this illness. And should be kinder when they judge some of his "off" performances.
Andy has by far THE BEST analysis of Zverev’s game against Sinner - comes from a place of having been there & depth of tactical awareness. unlike some others analysts, who did not play at this level.
Yup, most analysts said "Zverev needs to be more aggressive, needs to go more to the net" - meanwhile Zverev lost 80% of points at the net, like how can you keep going there if you're getting destroyed. And his approach shots weren't even that bad, just Sinner punished him almost every single time.
Kim was absolutely right at 9:53 - the game at the top is different to what it used to be. Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, Murray, Wawrinka - back in their day if a decent return was put in play, they would generally rally and take gradual control of the point. Nowadays, if a player hits a boring/ordinary rally ball they're not going to win that point against the best guys unless they get lucky. If you pay attention, you can see that Sinner & Alcaraz almost never let their opponents cruise with a below avg or even a basic rally ball - it always gets punished either with a much stronger follow up, or a winner at times. But for Zverev, he often lets his opponents get away with a modest rally shot especially if he's feeling lots of pressure and he's often not capitalizing on offensive opportunities in general, other than when he serves. He's more of a classic baseliner with a huge serve +1, but in today's game one has to do more to win majors.
Love that point Andy started with. Commentators often say things like 'champions find a way, even on their bad days'. Yes, because they are better!
At the rec level this is easier to see, there are players at my club I couldn't beat even on my best and their worst day.
oh man I wish we had access to these kind of conversations of elite players when I was a kid 20-25 years ago .. I have written it before and going to write it again - I have learned so much about the intricacies and secrets of tennis from this podcast ..I grew up poor and we could not afford tennis lessons, I am so happy to be able to learn now .. great input from Kim too!
Zverev's only chance is RG where his style suits the most. Only if he changes his forehand technique he will have a shot at the hard courts. We should all look at how different Djokovic's forehand is in 2010 then now. Also Fonseca is coming, window will be soon be closed.
Andy, would you please talk about your serve in future episode? It’s so majestic I wish to know everything about it. Like how you developed it? Have you had any shoulder injury because of your serve motion? How did you feel about it going against the players in your era? How do you think it would go against players now? Thank you so much!
Your press conferences were funny Andy. All the travel and different time zones would get to me and being away from family
Had such a huge crush on Kim Clijsters back in the day...
And she was fierce too
Thanks for the video! 😊
But Kim has a point and it's not "lazy analysis" like Andy put it. Any tennis player knows how to step it in. Sinner also doesn't hug the baseline but he will step in when he needs to. You can't just hang back against a player like Sinner.
Love your analysis and love Kim.
Brilliant technical discussion
Love your analysis. Helps me understand that the tennis circuit is a career not just a win lose proposition.
“ 5:15 He doesn’t punch himself out.” - no, he saves that for his victims
Speaking as a tennis player, Zverev and the others in the 90s gen are skilled enough to deserve and earn majors.
Speaking as a tennis fan though, it would be pretty funny if the 90s gen that the media has been hyping up for years ended up with no more slams.
Roddick makes a good point about Zverev choreographing some plays. Zverev literally played the whole final on his backhand side. When he was forced to hit a forehand, it would either be a weak loopy deep ball or a slice. It was a good defensive tactic which worked quite well for two sets but by the third set he was toast. He needs to srart deploying some aggressive plays on both sides but particularly on his forehand side. Its hard to believe that the number 2 player in the world is not capable of hammering that forehand. I think it partly comes down to a lot of nerves and a lot of self-doubt but also because its in his nature to rely on the backhand. On the bright side, this match could be a wake up call for Zverev because the match completely exposed his flawed forehand. He's gotta work on it and try and make it second nature
Being a pro tennis player seems completely insane.
He has at least 4 majors, providing heplays the way he played in the US open first two sets and the French open against Nadal before his injury
Wasn’t Zverev’s brother almost exclusively serve-and-volley? And he’s almost allergic to the net.
Yep Mischa was one of the last pure serve and volleyers.
When you get passed 10/12 times at the net, you certainly should re-evaluate your approach. And also - most approaches to the net, that Zverev made were not that bad approaches. Yet Jannik passed him almost every time.
His brother Mischa was a legit serve and volleyer. I saw him challengers in California and I had the speed radar gun set up at tournament and he would serve 70s and come in and volley. Nobody was hitting winners on their returns consistently against him. I don’t think he missed an overhead the entire tournament. By the way James Blake was at same Challenger in Sacramento. Fun times!
@@EAGLEEYESPORTS-dn5cnwas he good?
Yeah they are total contrasts in styles.
Zverev lacks the self belief to win a slam.. Look at the way he speaks about himself.. Would Rafa, Roger or Novak do that?? Not a chance. He's already defeating himself before stepping out on the court.
Confidence! Zverev really needs to believe in himself!
Great debate as always
Zverev needs therapy to improve himself not his game.
Hope the beater never wins a GS!!!
Zverev doesn’t just “lose to one person”
He is losing to Medvedev, he is losing to Fritz and he loses to Alcaraz most of the time.
Zverev can’t expect all of those players to lose before the semifinals in a major plus Sinner.
Zverev is CLEARLY 2nd tier right now despite his rank.
Yup, he loses to sisipas as well
Totally agree with Andy&kim always love this podcast.Brilliant analysis😊
That missed volley against Rafa at Indian Wells when he was up against him is the defining play of Zeverev’s career.
To me, his whole career can be defined by a lack of net game/great approach shot instinct.
Plus that US Open Final loss to a cramping Thiem might have buried his confidence.
You can't talk about his mental game without bringing that up his conviction for battering a woman in Germany. It's shameful to just avoid the topic and wonder about his mind in the abstract. He was a few seconds of strangulation away from being locked up in prison. Winning a slam will not be a redemption story for me but a perversion. Seeing him cry tears of joy while his weird dad hugs him will see like some kind of catharsis but it'll just bury the person he really is.
You are completely wrong about the facts.He was not convicted of anything.
Unfortunately for Zverev, his slam chances depend on Sinner either losing early or being compromised in some way. It’s not on zverev’s racket and he realizes that. All he can do is keep giving himself the opportunity like Fed did at the French when Nadal lost early. Anything can happen in sports.
Brilliant analysis, Andy. Lots of analysts suggesting for him just to be more aggressive, as if he had never thought about it 😂
"Crush and rush" 😂😂 geez Andy is so American, love it
Andy I posted this under another video of the match, I am curious what your thoughts are.
So in the tiebreak 1 all, 2 all, and 3-2 are good examples of what follows.
I don't believe Zverev lost that match completely from being outplayed, (although he was)at least the forehand not being the actual difference maker. The placement on the attack looked to me like the bigger issue. I thought he actually got to attack quite often and was just making a lot of bad decisions versus sinner specifically. He was opening up the court and looking for angles at the wrong moments. When he was pressuring, he was attacking into the corners. We know Sinner on the run is just ridiculous and he proved that by neutralizing practically everything. However, Zverev would try to continue back into another corner almost every time. So he was missing that next next hard angle or he would play a safer shot/or just not a great fh in a bad place. He needed to run him, and then hit hard to the middle once sinner was back (at least enough as a mix-up, 35-40% of the time?). He actually starts doing this halfway into the second set, and then sporadically in the third and it paid off. (he was in a sense not playing well for his shot shape like you talk about a lot)
I think he either figured this out or heard it from his coach. He got way more approach shots when he was using this pattern. THEN, the problem became he did the exact same thing on the approach, playing too much into a corner. At one point James Blake even said, "I just don't think its the right move going in against a swinging forehand. If you give a player something to run at and trying to volley...". Just let him try to take a crack at a groundstroke from the T. I think that pattern only happened a couple times in the whole match(Sinner did hit a nasty cross court pass off it once). It's like he became aware of the first point about the baseline game, but just didn't follow it through well enough to see the effect. The let chord in the tie breaker honestly might have been the worst timed, most unlucky final point in recent history. If he had squeaked out that set, he might have had the confidence to have figured this stuff out before the match ended.
But yeah, not a pro player here, so I understand I may be completely wrong, I didn't see that quite as negatively as you both did. If there is one shot I think Zverev could add its the defensive forehand in the corner. He just couldn't seem to hit it hard and keep it deep, or, spin it with good placement. If he could a little deeper with good placement, I think he's incredible at defending and would have had opportunities to close the court again (better than sinner because of his shot shape). It would have let him stay in a couple more crucial points. I believe he's on his way to a much better performance in the rematch.
I am hoping Zverev will get a slam!
Hopefully soon … it’s has to be in 2025
I think that's why Zverev was so upset when he lost this time.
He maybe thought after Fed, then Rafa and Novak started leaving & not winning all the time that he was in with a chance at last but then Sinner & Alcaraz arrived.
Sinner has changed a lot about his game in the last 2 years.
He has better footwork than Zverev for starters. He has a better serve and he's consistent.
He also plays a better chess game on court - looking for the gaps, always one step ahead.
Zverev could achieve all of the above.
Much as he loves his dad, he should think of having an exra coach for a while - new ideas.
I hope he does. Things have to fall right for him, get a good draw and hope Sinner gets knocked out somehow. There's alot of other good players as well. Definitely won't be easy but he certainly has a shot.
Great analysis by Andy & pretty good by Kim as well re Sasha Zverev. Zverev's key problem is he is not aggressive consistently enough to win grand slams with technical weaknesses on the forehand & his volley inhibiting his chances. Then again he got so close against Dominic Thiem at the US Open in 2020 by playing freely & aggressively against a tight Thiem which included his forehand firing. Then Thiem who was down 5-1 second set broke back & suddenly became freer thereafter. Zverev kind of got nervous & technical weaknesses on his second serve just cost him, combined with Thiem's all out aggression when it counted. Zverev was also close against Alcaraz at Roland Garros, but he was too passive in the 5th set. On the other hand, a counter-punching style is best suited to Roland Garros & I think is the place Zverev is most likely to win a slam because it favours excellent defense & counterpunching, but even there players who have great attack tend to win. EG Rafa Nadal 14 times, Djoker 3 times, & Stan Wawrinka or even Alcaraz. If Zverev has to play Alcaraz or Sinner in a final I don't think he will win. On the other hand if it's Casper Ruud or perhaps Daniel Medvedev then he might just get there. Zverev must improve his volleys & forehand to be a good chance. Stan Wawrinka did it & his victory at Roland Garros was a career defining match for him. Zverev is much less likely to win without significant technical improvements especially against Jannik Sinner.
He was so close at the French Open final… I keep thinking having a father as a coach is the problem. Family is not objective enough in my opinion and I think a new coach could unlock that final door. Crush and rush would definitely be dangerous for any opponent of a guy who’s 6’6”
Lendl lost 4 straight slam finals before winning 8. And so Zverev has definitely chance to win a slam or more as he is only 27.
Thanks for reminding us. How easy we forget
I've seen zverev play more aggressive though. It's in him, he tends to get passive when he's nervous
If the idea is that Zverev could win in 2/3 set matches, but can't in longer ones 3/5 set matches due to a larger sample size, then the obvious solution to this is to shrink the 3/5 set matches.
I don't know that serve and volleying is necessarily the answer since he is capable of holding his serve, although maybe mixing that up a bit a more might make the Sinner and Alcaraz not be able to get into a flow. What he needs to do is simply go balls out when he's returning. He needs to play (2) different games styles. He can play his consistent and safe tennis during his serve as long as he's holding it, and when he's returning he just needs to go for it within then first 2/3 balls no if or buts.
He's already losing as it is against these guys anyways so who care if he loses this way if he was going to lose regardless. At least this way he went for it.
The only other option that I can think off is that instead of hitting the forehand harder, he needs to hit much much deeper.
Yes, I agree with everything! Everyone who says Zverev needed to go out to the net more, is obviously disregarding the fact that most of Zverev approaches to the net were actually decent and he lost 10/12 points there. Going to the net was not the answer, and it seems like it never will be.
Andy please say something about Chile on the Davis Cup
I can see him winning one, but most likely it will involve Sinner, Djokovic, or Alcaraz (more more than one of them) out of that tournament. He's just 27, but then again, he's 27 and hasn't won one yet. But Keys got one. Wawrinka won 3 in the era of the 3 greatest ever and Murray.
Stanimal is a God. He beat down prime Novak twice in the biggest settings. Apologize 4 even mentioning Stan's name in a comparison with that German who wears 2 many necklaces.
I feel that hitting extra high balls should be a tactical option. Because it can limit player's ability to hurt you consistently or easily if your regular balls are not hurting them. If anything, it could force the dominant player to have to step in to take the ball early or hit the balls in uncomfortable situations, hitting really high will at the very least influence that tactics of your opponent.
Maybe Zverev can do it !
It's quite simple in the case of zverev. He has the best serve in the game. That saves him most of the time. He has to improve his net game and finishing off points esp forehand dtl. He'll have much more success that way!
I'm surprised that Zverev pouted so much during the match. This was supposed to be the new and improved Zverev. He has the talent to win a Major but, like Kyrgios, there's something wrong between the ears.
Not talented enough to be number 1 tho
He seemed like he had given up after half of second set tbh.
@@Sparkle0310-k9w There are plenty of brilliant tennis players who've never won a Major. Winning just one Major is a Herculean feat. Players like Medvedev and Roddick have won one Major. If you're a professional tennis player and you're healthy, can pay your bills, and you love the sport, you're already ahead of 99% of the masses. Medvedev, for instance, has millions and lives in Monaco. In other sports too, like golf, they fly around the world, see all the best places and learn new things doing what they love. I bow to these athletes. Just don't be a douchebag. That's all I ask.
@@davidhunternyc1 Exactly, one of my favourite players is Medvedev and though I get sad thinking about how many chances slipped through his fingers that he regrets, you really have to keep in perspective that these guys are mind blowingly good. They have made it to the top with a ton of sacrifices and a lot of hard work. There are plenty of other players that are stuck with their low rankings or gotten injured and never recovered or are too short to be a top player.
Every player you see on screen at a Main Draw of a Slam are one of the lucky ones. Imagine being that good and making it that far!! Even trying in challengers. Though it's always sad when we see potential and think that it hasn't been lived up to.
@@WolfTitan99 Exactly, imagine, being in the Top 100 in the world, out of millions of tennis players. It's special indeed. The reward is the journey.
Thiem was so blessed to win that slam in 2020 not having to go through Fed, Rafa or Novak. Zverev will need a similar lucky draw to win a slam
you realise he lost to thiem in that final playing nobody as well? he choked a 2 set lead in the WORST grand slam final we have ever seen? Zverev is extremely lucky he wasnt in the big 3+murray era, he wouldn't a be a slam semi finalist if he did.
@@ciaranselva Yeop in terms of level that was probably the worst GS final ive ever seen, Thiem didnt play well either.
He's #2 in the 🌎 and has won everything except a slam. So I'd say yes but like everyone, time isn't on his side
If Sinner gets banned, Alcaraz is off and Djoko is injured.
About your comments on Novak being booed in Australia, if you look back at 2014 Australian Open
Final between Stan and Rafa, Rafa was booed as the audience thought he was faking an injury. Yes, Novak gets more flack from audiences than most top players but, even Rafa was booed in Australia, and not recently; 11 years ago.
Lastly, Andy’s question about how to beat Sinner, the only one who consistently beats Sinner is Alcaraz and he’s been doing it more with a net game, drop shots, and court coverage. Sinner still has difficulty getting to Carlos’s drop shots.
I'm Italian and I'm a Sinner fan, but I've always liked Sascha a lot, also as a person. Watching him play the final, I saw in his eyes from the first minutes a sort of predestination to misfortune; as if he already knew he would lose and was resigned to this inevitability. Maybe I'm wrong, but his mental attitude could be a bigger problem than the technical gap.
Imagine liking an abuser as a person. Wow
Obviously if you're playing somebody who's just better and they're having a better day there's not much you can do.
But I really want to know what he would be like if he would get a different coach that's not his dad. I just feel like there seems to be such a mental block for him.
Sometimes just a fresh perspective and a fresh voice can help you get to a different place mentally.
French! But he needs to do it soon before Carlos go all Rafa on everyone and Jannik figures it out and Jaoa turns 23-24😅
😊
Jaoa…exactly. He is coming too and will be in the mix sooner than later..
I think Learner Tien will also do well on clay
It's all psychology really at this level. That's the secret and there isn't an easy answer because it's a very personal thing and finding the key to u lock his psychology.
(Just so you know Im not hating - I have been a fan of him since the beginning. Hell, I have been a fan of his brother Mischa playing challengers in the US. I always wanted Zverev to win a GS and thought he was the next person to get one before Wawrinka, Cilic). Bottom line is that Zverev doesn’t have the mental game to win. We can’t quantify mental game which is separate than IQ, EQ and even tennis IQ. Zverev is maxed out for his potential. That is great that he has maxed out even though he has no Slams…Many players have not maxed their potential physically, mentally and emotionally which is even worse. Older players before him, during his generation and even the next gen are not afraid of him.
Zverev and Medvedev are the only two players in the top 20 who, on an attackable ball, do not move around it to play a forehand.
1. They have a perfect backhand, so they don’t need to.
2. Their forehand motion is too wide, making it difficult to take the ball early.
No matter how perfect a backhand is, its trajectories and speed are structurally different from a forehand. If they don’t improve this shot, I see a tough time ahead against Alcaraz and Sinner.
Alcaraz, but especially Sinner, has improved a lot they need to improve as well.
Alcaraz and Sinner both gave forehands which are absolute weapons. If Zverev wants to compete, he needs his to be one too
Sasha’s face when he starts to look at his bench… that face. It’s broadcasted. How can Sinner not feed on that all day? All sinner needs to do is wait until the shell starts to crack. Sasha crosses his backhand to the opposite side so much and then anything down the line isn’t deep enough.
This was an excerpt from AO wrap-up video! Thought it was something new. ☹️ I hope so for Zverev; we’ll just have to see, won’t we?
Zverev should not give up. Keep playing your best and you could very well break through. There may be a day a Sinner or Alcaraz for example are not having their best day. Maybe the draw opens up and you are not playing somebody in the top 5 in the final. He could also be in the "zone" one day and it does not matter who he is playing. Other players have lost Grand Slam finals in the beginning and came back to win one.
The lost generation should have at least 7 slams. Rublev, theim, Alex, Daniel, stefanos. All of them never change up their approach. Carlos had to come and dethrone Novak in slams
Alex could have easily won a slam with fixing is serve 4 years ago. He would double fault 14-16 times a match. You can’t win a slam doing that. Now that he fixed the serve it’s a mental game now. If I was Alex I would have went to Boris or Andre and have a week to go over mental aspects of the game. Watch film with them
Thiem won a slam but then had wrist issues, he was my pick at the time to become the next world n.1
What film?
Thiem is technically a late Millennial - with Raonic, Nishikori and Dimitrov
@@soulfood2453 match footage for analysis.. but I'm trying to work out if it's Alex de Minaur or someone else
@ thé title says Alex Zverev
Serve and volley off his serves is a no-brainer .
Not really. Not in this day and age. Look at the greatest serve & volleyers, they are rarely tall guys with a big serve. Players will be able to dip the ball to his feet more often than not and Zverev is a) slow to the net b) doesn't have quick reflexes or agility and c) doesnt have the hands to handle difficult volleys consistently. Sure, he will be able to put away high volleys and easy overheads, but struggle with everything else. Consistent Serve & Volley is a lot about agility, reflexes, good hands, and being able to change direction quickly. Guys like Jordan Thompson or Max Purcell. Sascha can throw it in occasionally or do it like Reilly Opelka: Serve & Survey - crush the serve and if a weak return comes back, move up to the half court and hit a volley or drive volley
I was astonished that you lost to Roger in the 2004 wimbledon final! you were clearly the best.
Any Murray went through the same but won in the end,they guy has the game for it
Just my opinion but, the way Zverev treated Fils in the ceremony after he lost that final last year speaks to his attitude towards himself and other people. It eventually seeps into all aspects of his game. There’s that and again my personal opinion, he’s not cut from the same cloth as Novak, Roger and Rafa let alone Murray, Wawrinka. He’s going to find it increasingly difficult to win slams against Carlos, Jannik going forward. Statistically most professionals never win a grand slam. All that being said it’s not impossible, I just can’t see it.
I don't know why would it be too much to ask for Zverev to improve his forehand when Andy Murray did it. Andy was in a very similar position to where Zverev is now and his solution was getting Lendl and improving his forehand. That's how he won Majors.
A point that I feel was not mentioned here at all is that he really needs to improve his volley. There were many situations where he was in a good position to win the point but ends up losing it, because he hit a mediocre volley. Against the top guys those points are going to make the difference
No he doesn’t, too much scar tissue & he’s not as good as he once was & now Alcaraz & Sinner are simply better than he is, let alone worlds ahead mentally
Disagree love Alcaraz and Sinner but there will be slams where they won’t be physically 100% or mentally 100% we saw it with the big 3 EX 2014 US Open. Zverev gets it done at the French or the US open this year or next book it!
@ when they aren’t in the way, he’ll lose to a guy like Fritz like he has done last year
@@rishidandu8027yeah that just wishful bull right there. He’s been in only 3 finals, on of which he got lucky due to Novak withdrawing. He doesn’t have what it takes and never will
@@nathanherzka9355 or Musetti. took him out at the Olympics and has the perfect tools to blunt Zverev's game.
@@DarthPlegaus he has (or more accurately HAD) the talent to go toe to toe with the best, but now Sinner and Alcaraz are just simply better
This apathy towards Zverev's personal issues is bordering on insanity
Wdym?
@KOSlice1560 Pundits and ATP skirting over the elephant in the room, Zverev paying off women before possible trial regarding domestic abuse allegations
@@atmosphericfloatything2472 I mean Andy Roddick and other tennis figures have to maintain a professional attitude toward the situation. Someone like Andy Roddick can’t just go around saying that Zverev abused women because they’d be liable for defamation at that point. I’d like for the community to be able to discuss the situation more, but outside of an ATP suspension or another lawsuit, there’s really nothing more to do or say.
@@KOSlice1560 He doesn't need to speak about this but he can choose to not talk about him at all.
@@KOSlice1560 It's not defamation if it's true. I 100% think he's guilty, but I don't like to see him get kicked to death constantly over it
He just has to bide his time and keep getting to those finals. FO next up and probably his best chance with those long swings and staying behind the baseline, together with those big serves best suited to the clay. Less suited to grass.
Zverev needs other people to regulate him. On the court, he can't do that. The predictability of his game is a game he learned in early childhood and adolescence. Owing to his dysfunctional personality organization, he is not coachable. He can't introject new coaching to improve his game. On the court he's incapable of adjusting because he's still a little boy needing parents to tell him what to do. He has been over parentified. It is sad when this happens to tennis players.
lol you just might be correct! Not a bad observation!
No. No slam for Zverev.
Zverev will be the next Søderling.. no grand slam, but the potential is wihtout a doubt there!
I was thinking about Andy Murray. Didn’t he take ages to get a grand slam. ? This situation seems similar ,
Basically agree with Andy that each player has a tool set and they can't suddenly become a different player and do things that they are'nt the best at. Zverev does need time to wind up his shots and in practice why not try to move up to the ball a little more but in a big match think you gotta go with whta you're most comfortable with. For me Zverev is an amazing cross court hitter off both wings but is less good than a djokovic at changing directions. Therefore I think he should stick to his cross court patterns and wait for the easier ball to change direction. If he's not getting that easier ball then he should just do what he's omfortable with even bigger. Hit the forehand and backhand cross court bigger and ask sinner the question "can you change direction when I'm hitting my shots that big and that deep. I thought in the final particularly off the forehand zverev had decided he had to hit the forehand down the line or in to out tpo make progress in the rally and judt think he was wrong on that. All he got for that decision was hitting a ton of unforced errors.
Would be interesting if Z tried serve and volley next time. Z serves strong and is tall with wide reach.
The way Zverev and Medvedev play is fast becoming an old skool format in my view. You need more versatility; being a good rallier doesn't cut it in the way the game has been shaping up since Alcaraz, in particular, broke through.
Same reason guys like Ruud and Rublev will never win a GS
No. Abuserev isn't mentally strong in big matches.
there's so much to do in his coaching, and it seems not to happen, but not sure how professional is the coaching environment
Zverev just needs to be there, giving it his all, trying. Pretty simple, don’t change a thing, don’t give up.
No out of the sinner game you could clearly see a couple of areas for improvement. His forhand he needs to work on. Especially up the line. His volleying and also consistency of shot. He some times in longer rallys will throw in nothing shots where he just puts the ball back in play without any power or purpose - gets away with it vs lesser players but not sinner. He got beat in straight sets but actually wasn't hugely outplayed. Its on of those were if he tightened a couple of areas he could beat him especially if it goes long as he generally has better endurance/fitness.
Before the final, I already knew Zverev would lose bcos of his attitude and mindset towards the game. I remember Zverev was asked many times about Big 3, especially Djokovic and I’m pretty sure not only him but also everyone would praise Djokovic as the goat bla bla bla which is fine. But the way Zverev speaks about Djokovic is like “You’re the greatest and pls let me win one day”. For me, that tells enough about Zverev mindset as he always thinks he can’t win against someone who’s clearly better than him. On the other side, Djokovic would never say things like that. Instead he said “I’m gonna come back and beat you guys” when he’s talking about Nadal and Federer. That’s why with that sort of mindset, Zverev (and some other players) will never win a slam unless all the top 5 don’t attend, or he makes some change about his attitude and mindset. You can only win slams if you believe you can beat everyone (plus your tennis ability of course).
Andy, Zverevs biggest problem is, that his Tennis-DNA comes from safety/security-play, he does not really like to play close to the lines, to finish a rally quick by a kill-shot. When he can change this, he will not have anymore problems with Sinner, if not, he will continue to be outplayed. His backhand-longline for example is such a kill-shit, but he uses him only like 5 % of all strokes, but guess also to his mindset/psycho and self-confidence...Besides, he never, really never attacks a second serve from opponents, even when Sinner throws in the second serve with 140km/h, you can be sure, he returns this ball to the middle... instead of crashing this offer... always safety first...
He based his game all these years from back of the court shooting from both sides and a war of attrition and taking away legs of the opposition. Always likes playing 5 setters, and long matches. No variation. Not going to work as soon he will be older and will even loose those legs which Meddy seems to have lost these days. And, Meddy's bread-n-butter was also grinding all day long ala Simon his coach.
I would say even Novak at times used to deploy same tactics from back of the court and would tire Federer all day, who then start making mistakes. But Novak changed that after getting older.
Andy was pretty suicidal with his net rushes. It just wasn't his natural game, but I do see his point in that it mixes things up. How different would history be had he made that high backhand volley against Federer in Wimbledon 2009 second set tiebreak?
Imho , Zverev does have a few slams in him . However, He's Holding himself back. 1st by all the off court drama , that is all his doing, and that seeps into any1s mental game & fortitude. 2ndly and possibly more important is that he needs to Change his coaching team . As a Jr and newcomer to the Pro tour years ago , it served him well to have his dad & brother around for that stability and Support system. Now its become an hindrance because he still seeks answers or vents frustrations their way. Its not productive to His Game at this Stage of his Pro tennis career. He needs to Own it all which leadss to accountability of his actions which then leads to Maturity (not just mental but emotional)
I believe he will win French open
I honestly don’t think he will at this point. If Sinner gets banned it will increase his chances though.
He can 100% win one at least, I mean he's right there. It's easy to talk about techniques but it's really player centric. I'd say say if sinner had lost to Shelton due to cramps ect then there would probably not be this discussion, I'd also say if I had wheels I'd be a bike. But yeah I recon if he can 'grab a few cheapies' in the busters' then it's rock on tommy.
It is an easy comparison to use between Zverev and Andy Murray pre winning a slam. One could say that if you knock on the door enough times, eventually the door opens.
But I dont see it that simple for Zverev.
For one, Murray was a great grass court player (grass being the surface most players are not comfortable on), and Zverev is not.
Two, Zverev is very good on clay, but not only is he up against Alcaraz and Sinner who are probably better, but the depth of players good on clay is deep.
So third leaves hard courts. I think he can win at Oz or U.S, but he will need everything to fall into place for it to happen.
to even mention Zverev in the same breathe as andy is actually insulting to murray. Zverev legit has 3 top 10 wins in slams in his life, he is 28 this year. not counting the match vs Djokovic. Murray was contending at slams at 21 years old until injuries caught him. Zverev made 3 slam finals, the USO in 2020 was a joke now, can hardly count that. French open last year beating who? Australia beating who?
Standard of tennis now is shadow of what it was even 10 years ago.
Maybe you need to read the key words in my comment - "pre winning a slam". Yes, I get that Zverev is 28 and Andy was only 25 when winning his first slam, but the comparison was between Zverev now and Murray prior to winning a slam.
@@neilarjoo1011you didn't pick up what I was putting down...never mention murray and zverev pre slam wins..post slam wins..after retirement..ever. murray was getting to slam latter stages since he was 21 beating good players..if murray was the same age as zverev he would have cleaned up..zverev is losing to players not the big 3 in their prime..murrayw as losing to them and beat them when it counted..zverev doenst have any big, signature wins.
Zverev just needs to pray that he won’t face alcaraz and sinner in the finals of gs. Then he will have a real chance..
If he can get to a slam vs say Paul, Rudd, Fritz or Tiafoe type but even then there is no guarantee
He can’t beat Fritz anymore
Sinner is simply on another planet and bc of stats like Novak 24 slams people are afraid to say that he is playing at a level never before seen. He does everything that that prime Novak can do can but hits huge at the same time and is so quick with his skinny ass legs it’s really absurd in 10 years we are going to be comparing his hard to stats to Rafas clay court stats
If Sinner gets suspended he has a decent chance. However, if Sinner beats trial and Zverev has to contend with both Sinner and Alcaraz, his chances are less than 10%. The best of 5 format does him zero favors. He isn’t a better player than either and certainly the longer the match goes the less favorable his chances are.
Is the entire tennis world going to ignore his anger issues and the fact that TWO women came forward with abuse allegations? He agreed to pay the German government a quarter of a million dollars in fines because of one of the cases that went to court. Shame on tennis for sweeping this under the rug.
Yes, it’s been ignored. We’re not going to stop supporting someone because some allegations came out about them. Disappointed? Of course. But still supporting him and hoping for success. Mistakes made by someone is no reason to wish for failure.
@@zacharyedwards8853 You are so far off your rocker that you think it's acceptable to support an abuser.
Zverev has NOT been found criminally or civilly responsible for his actions.
There's been a 15-month investigation by the ATP in which they found no evidence about.
Zverev did not pay anything to her, and around 450,000 Euros fine of Zverev (before the trial) was revoked.
What happened to innocent before guilty...
And from your previous comments, you seem to have a biased view on DV *accusations*
@@zacharyedwards8853
Don't listen to him. He's shedding misinformation online
Zverev is the Choke Goat
I hope Zverev wins a slam but I don't see it happening - there are too many players above him - Fritz beat him four times in a row last year and I don't see Fritz winning a slam either. Although Zverev was two sets to one up in the FO final last year you felt Alcaraz would come back. I think Zverev's best chance was the 2020 US Open Final. In his speech last week he said he doesn't want to be the greatest player not to win a slam - even if he makes five more finals and loses all of them I don't think he'd have the mantle of best player not to win one...I would put Mark Philippoussis ahead on that front because up until Federer came along, on his day Mark could beat and did beat the best at the time - Sampras and Agassi. Tsitsipas seems to be regressing but at his best and Medvedev's best they are ahead of Zverev. Tsitsipas beat Sinner at Monte Carlo last year and has the potential to compete better than his ranking currently suggests.
He should replaced MacEnroe. He will be a great commentator
We miss a Roger federer player on the tour, most players just stay behind the baseline all the time zzzzzzzz we need more serve and volley.. we need the fast courts back!
Aren't we missing the point here? 2020 he had literally everything go his way... Got 2 sets up in the final, wasn't even in front of an audience and he still choked.
Choker!
With his fragile mental state, I can only see him winning if Jannick or Alcaraz are injured or out early in a slam. Because in the final, the mentality of the other 2 will get the better of him.