Alexander Zverev may have lost yesterday’s Wimbledon final, but can depart the All England Club with so much credit.
After all, before this year, he had never made it past the fourth round of this tournament.
To have made it all the way to the final, and taken a one-set lead against the world number one, is indicative of a player playing with so much newfound freedom following his Roland Garros triumph just last month.
In the end, Jannik Sinner was just too good.
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However, that should not detract from what was a brave performance from Alexander Zverev, abandoning his usual safety-first principles to try to trouble his opponent.
For that, he has earned huge praise from Andy Roddick.
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Speaking live on ESPN during last night’s coverage, he began by contextualising the struggles behind Zverev’s rivalry with Sinner. After all, before last night, he had already lost his last nine matches against the Italian.
Roddick therefore noted: “Listen, everyone has a worst matchup, right? And for Alex Zverev, there’s no question [that] it’s Jannik Sinner.
“It’s just what he does well falls into the pocket of Sinner. He’s not affected by depth; he’s not affected by his backhand; he likes to take pace to that forehand.”
He then explained why Zverev deserves credit: “Zverev has had an unbelievable summer. I think he couldn’t be happier with having one Roland Garros.
“Listen, we need to make this real again. He’s never made it past the fourth round of Wimbledon. So to play in a final and actually play well and be up a set in the final is a lot of progress.
“Does that mean that he’s solved the biggest riddle that he has, which is Jannik Sinner? TBD. I don’t think so. I thought this was his best effort. I loved his clarity of game plan, even if it kind of faded at the end; that’s the way that he has to play to put himself in these positions against Sinner specifically.”
Zverev did reveal the injury he suffered during the final after his mid-match slip, which did feel like a crucial flashpoint which altered the contest.
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Throughout this year’s Wimbledon Championships, and particularly in the final, Zverev was credited for making key changes to his game.
The shackles were clearly off after finally winning a major title, and this was exhibited in his play.
His forehand in particular looked so much looser, allowing him to attack with aggression we have seldom seen from him.
Asked about this shot in his press conference, he admitted: “I think if you can always manage to hit your forehand as hard as you can, it’s always a good thing.
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“I think it’s definitely something that I’ve worked on and I’ve been very outspoken about it this year. When I have the opportunity, I hit it. Whether I make it or miss it, that depends on the day. But I definitely go for it. That’s my goal, that’s my aim for this year, that’s my aim for hopefully the rest of my career.
“Again, I feel like with every month, it’s starting to work better and better. We’ll see where I’ll be at in the next couple of months.”
