The Australian Open and its crushing heat are always promises of promise for Alexander Zverev. In 2017, at the age of 19, the German tennis player gave Rafael Nadal a few cold sweats but surrendered in the fifth set in a duel that will mark his career. Since then, by gaining consistency and winning some prestigious titles on the circuit (five Masters 1000 – the most prestigious tournaments after the Grand Slams – and, in 2018, the ATP Finals – which bring together the eight best players of the season ), the world number 3 has positioned himself as a serious contender for victory in the Majors.
His semi-final in 2020 is, to date, his best performance at the Australian Open. Monday, January 17, he must face his compatriot Daniel Altmaier on behalf of the first round in Melbourne (January 17 to 30), over which will hover the shadow of Novak Djokovic, expelled from the country on Sunday.
The blonde-haired man didn’t take long to get noticed. He reveals himself to the public in Hamburg, his hometown, at only 17 years old. Without the slightest victory on the professional circuit, he climbed to the semi-finals and clung to his list of chasers the Russian Mikhail Youzhny, then 19and in the ATP rankings. His tall stature (1.98m) not helping, Zverev moves between the points feeling like he is carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. But his forehand is already devastating.
2021, best season of his career
Youngest winner in Masters 1000 since Novak Djokovic, in Rome in 2017 against the Serbian, “Sascha” (the diminutive of Alexander in Russian, the nationality of origin of his parents) is scrutinized by tennis observers, his performances are peeled. “His tennis is closely linked to his mental confidence, explains Camille Pin, former player now consultant for the Eurosport channel. We gave him very little time to become the player he has become, we may have asked a lot of things too early, so sometimes things got stuck. »
Despite an already well-stocked track record, one last step resists him: a first title in one of the four Grand Slams on the circuit. He could have achieved this in 2020, in the final of the US Open, when he led two sets to nothing against his friend, the Austrian Dominic Thiem. It was certainly still a bit early to interfere in the closed club of Major winners.
So the German took his time. In 2021, the most prolific year of his career with six titles, he won the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo. A new milestone for Zverev? This is what Camille Pin says: “The Olympics are special for a player. With the patriotic momentum, it’s different compared to other tournaments on the circuit. Winning them may have triggered a click in him”, underlines the old 61and world.
“On the circuit, it is difficult to keep up the pace week after week. Sascha is working a lot on his consistency, especially on his serve which has improved a lot”, analyzes for his part Michael Kohlmann, the German captain of the Davis Cup. From now on, “He is more experienced, he is very calm in decisive moments and often makes better decisions than before”.
A perfect game in attack
If he wants to win a Grand Slam, Alexander Zverev will have to improve his record against Top 10 players in best-of-five sets matches. He has thirteen defeats in as many games played. The statistics are more flattering in two winning sets: the German has 36 victories, some of which he obtained against the “Big Three” – Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer – whatever the surface, on hard, indoor or clay.
How can such a performance gap be explained? “The answer is far from easy, explains Michael Kohlmann. The fact of not losing too much energy in the first rounds of a Grand Slam is very important. » It is true, on many occasions, the world number 3 has drawn on its reserves during the first rounds, often accessible to the highest ranked players. At Roland-Garros 2019, he scrapped for seventeen sets in his first four matches before facing Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals. It is therefore difficult to fully defend your chances against the world number 1.
Thus, his propensity to lock himself in rallies from the baseline can serve him. “He lacks the ability to win points a little more easily”, judge Camille Pin, hoping however “that he doesn’t lose his DNA. He must bring small touches to his game without distorting himself. »
Michael Kohlmann pushes the analysis further: “Sometimes I think he could be more attacking by playing closer to the baseline or coming to the net, he and his team are working on that, confides the German coach. I sincerely believe that he will achieve his goal this year and win a Grand Slam. »
