Alexander Zverev has had a tough year, with his group-stage exit from the ATP Finals only compounding that misery.
For years now, the German has been expected to kick on and become the dominant force that many felt he might during the era of the Big Three.
However, he has been sadly bypassed by his two younger rivals, with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner now boasting an overwhelming duopoly over the men’s game and the Grand Slams.
Alexander Zverev is one of many who have been unable to unsettle their supremacy, and now, after his latest loss to the latter, has been accused of coming across as ‘whiny’ with his post-match comments.
Alexander Zverev slammed for comments after losing to Jannik Sinner
Speaking on The Tennis Podcast, reflecting on Zverev’s loss to Felix Auger-Aliassime and subsequent departure from the ATP Finals, it was pundit Matt Roberts who delivered his scathing review of the 28-year-old.
He cited what he felt to be a mentality issue, and actually used comments made after his loss to Sinner earlier in the week to prove his point.
Roberts claimed: “I found Zverev’s comments about Sinner’s serve in that match, again, a classic Zverev comment, like almost like whining a little bit about the fact that Sinner made first serves on break points, as though it was, I don’t know, lucky or something.
“It’s kind of like when someone says, Oh, you only won, because you’ve got a good goalkeeper. Well, having a good goalkeeper is a perfectly legitimate thing to have, like, that’s baked into squad building.”
However, he then found time to laud Sinner: “And, like for Sinner, it’s like, yeah, I’m gonna find my first serve on the biggest points, and you’re gonna have to deal with that. Like, Sinner, time and time again, is stepping up in those biggest moments in a way that Zverev isn’t.
“And yeah, he has been impressive, even I would say, without really being at his absolute best because he hasn’t needed it. He just looks in total control at the moment. I’ve really enjoyed his body language after he’s hit some of these drop shots.
“He’s quite comfortable now playing the forehand drop shot. It’s a shot that he is using frequently and efficiently and effectively. And I think he’s pleased with himself.”
Zverev complained to the umpire midway through that loss to Sinner about an external issue that was bothering him, further reinforcing his reason for frustration.
What exactly did Alexander Zverev say about Jannik Sinner’s serving?
The comments in question were recorded during his post-match press conference after Sinner had stormed into the semifinals with a win over Zverev.
There, the three-time Grand Slam finalist admitted that the ‘biggest difference’ between them was ‘how he was serving on the break points.’
He explained: “I had more break points than him. I felt very good from the baseline, actually better than in Vienna almost, when we were in the rally.
“To be honest, he had two chances to break me, and he used both of them. I had a lot of chances, and I didn’t use any. The score was 6-4, 6-3, but in my opinion, my humble opinion, I felt like the match was closer than the score maybe says”
Zverev continued: “This is how it is sometimes. Sometimes when he’s having a day like this where he’s serving unbelievable… His biggest strength is of course how he plays from the baseline, how he moves, how he hits forehands, how he hits backhands.
“Sometimes when he’s serving like this, it’s even more difficult because, as you said, seven break points, seven first serves, not one second serve I had. I was not even in the rally at all. I think I made one return. He hit a forehand winner. So yeah, it’s difficult like this.”
