Alexander Zverev came through a fierce Indian Wells battle last night to secure his spot in the Round of 16.
It marks a continuation of an impressive start to the year, where he is trying to balance tangible success with revamping his play style.
Having always been renowned as one of the most consistent players on tour, recently, some have argued that this consistency equates to a lack of aggression.
Without a killer instinct, he is unlikely to ever challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner for Grand Slam titles in the coming years.
However, speaking at his press conference, it was not the changes he was making that were the topic of conversation; it was Indian Wells’.
Alexander Zverev speaks about the change Indian Wells has made this year
Discussing the change in ball provider, from Penn to Dunlop, Alexander Zverev was asked if he could tell the difference.
And whilst he admitted he could, the 28-year-old insisted that it was far from his biggest concern, or the largest change he’d noticed at the tournament this year.
Do you think Alexander Zverev has what it takes to win a Grand Slam?
The German admitted: “I think Dunlop, generally, is a faster ball. Penn probably fluffs up a bit more. I think both are good balls. I think the Penn balls that you buy in the store and the Penn balls that we play with are really, really different, so I think it’s tough to judge for a nonprofessional.
“But I think the biggest difference this year is the court. The court is quicker and it’s not as rough. I think the balls just generally stay a bit better for longer.”
This came just days after Zverev spoke about Emma Raducanu’s coaching situation, joining the conversation that has dominated the sport for the last week or so.
Alexander Zverev is making the right changes to win a Grand Slam title
As touched upon earlier, Zverev has made it clear that he is trying to completely overhaul his play style.
After all, following years of being told by fans, pundits and coaches, he has finally started to agree that his consistency might be killing his chances of that elusive major title.
These slight improvements were evident in his recent win over Brandon Nakashima, and speaking after, he exhibited his excitement at noticing these decisions start to pay dividends.
He told reporters: “It’s exciting, but it will take time.
“I’m still trying to win matches here, so sometimes I will go back to my old self.
Alexander Zverev is the greatest player to never win a Grand Slam title – who else is in the conversation?
“But I think in important moments like today in the tiebreak, I won the tiebreak myself. I won the tiebreak by playing aggressive tennis, and that’s something to look forward to and to be excited about.”
After coming so close to Grand Slam glory on so many occasions, finally there is cause for Zverev to be optimistic about his chances. He’s certainly moving in the right direction to complete his ultimate goal.
