Zverev overcomes question marks but still far away from his dream
It’s been a while now since Alexander Zverev has done everything there is to do in tennis, except for winning a Grand Slam and becoming No 1. In 2024, he came ever so close to reaching these goals as he was just a set away from victory at the French Open and finished the year … Continued
Alexander Zverev, ATP Finals 2024
It’s been a while now since Alexander Zverev has done everything there is to do in tennis, except for winning a Grand Slam and becoming No 1. In 2024, he came ever so close to reaching these goals as he was just a set away from victory at the French Open and finished the year as world No 2.
“It’s the first year that I was competitive again in the big events. There were question marks whether I was ever going to do that again,” said Zverev referring to his grave ankle injury at Roland-Garros 2022.
Zverev won 69 matches in 2024, lifting two Masters 1000 titles along the way – in Rome and Paris, beating Nicolas Jarry and Ugo Humbert in the finals respectively. Furthermore, he won the United Cup with Germany and only once during the season did he lose his first match at a tournament.
The German’s booming serve, defensive skills, counterpunching abilities and clean backhand are very well-known to anyone who follows tennis. Still, this year there were a few moments when Zverev really missed the opportunity to breakthrough even more – in the Australian Open semi-finals against Daniil Medvedev and in the French Open finals against Carlos Alcaraz, for instance, or in his sole match against Jannik Sinner this year in the semi-finals of Cincinnati 7-6(9), 5-7, 7-6(4).
“When I watch (Zverev) play, I see someone who plays far too passively, far too defensively in the decisive moments,” said the great Roger Federer. That is indeed to blame for some of Zverev’s most painful defeats, but compared to the past, Sasha is more determined not to get stuck in the old ways.
“That’s the number one thing. Not backing off, going for your shots in the most important moments,” said Zverev during the ATP Finals in Turin. “That’s maybe where I struggled in my career, trusting my shots and going for them when I need to. I think personally that’s something that I still continue to need to work on.”
Greatest Win: Out of his eight top 10 wins this season, the biggest one came in the Australian Open quarter-finals, where Zverev dominated Alcaraz and probably should’ve won in three sets, but in the end he got the job done in four – 6-1, 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-4.
What-If Moment: During the fifth set of the French Open final, Zverev seemingly broke back as Alcaraz’s second serve on break point was out. The umpire thought otherwise, Alcaraz went on to hold his serve and win the match 6-3 2-6 5-7 6-1 6-2. “It’s frustrating in the end, but it is what it is. Umpires make mistakes. They’re also human, and that’s okay.”
Another one came in Melbourne, Zverev 2-1 sets up on Medvedev with the score 5-5 in the fourth set tiebreak. Sasha hit a decent serve out wide, but Medvedev’s block return barely made it over the net for a dropshot winner. Set point instead of a match point, and Zverev lost the match 5-7, 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(5), 6-3. It was only the second time Zverev lost from two sets up, the first being in the 2020 US Open final (he would go on to lose from 2-0 up in the Wimbledon fourth round versus Fritz too).
Looking Ahead: In both of the aforementioned matches though, Zverev again had himself to blame. Another wasted opportunity came at the US Open, where he lost in the quarter-finals to Taylor Fritz 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3). In order to achieve the goals Sasha has set out for himself, he will look to improve his forehand and return even more, but the key thing is to stay aggressive in the decisive moments.
“I want to develop my game further so I can compete with Jannik and Carlos. As simple as that. They’re the two benchmarks right now. They’re the ones that are winning Grand Slams. I want to be part of that group.”
