Andy Roddick: Zverev Too Focused on Beating Alcaraz and Sinner, Struggling Against Others
Andy Roddick believes Alexander Zverev may be overly fixated on defeating Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, which has negatively impacted his overall form. Since his Australian Open final loss to Sinner, Zverev has struggled, suffering unexpected defeats to players he would typically beat.
At the start of 2025, Zverev set his sights on winning his first Grand Slam at the Australian Open. He came within one match of achieving that dream, only to be dominated in straight sets by Sinner in the final. Since then, the world No. 2 has gone 4-3, with early exits and losses to Francisco Cerundolo, Francisco Comesana, Learner Tien, and Tallon Griekspoor—a clear sign that he hasn’t been at his best.
Roddick sees parallels between Zverev’s struggles and his own career experience in 2006.
After losing consecutive Wimbledon finals to Roger Federer in 2004 and 2005, Roddick became obsessed with finding a way to beat the Swiss legend. However, this tunnel vision led to a drop in his performance against other opponents.
“I was in a mode for a while where 100% of my focus was adjusting my game to try to beat Roger,” Roddick said on Served with Andy Roddick. “Then, all of a sudden, I found myself in the first part of 2006 losing to a bunch of people who weren’t Roger.”
Roddick suspects Zverev is facing a similar issue. “I sense a lot of that with him. He’s taking potshots on his forehand side now, and that’s not what you want to do. It feels like he’s playing for the chorus.”
While Roddick never solved the Federer puzzle, he still managed to win the 2003 US Open and reach two more Grand Slam finals. For Zverev, the challenge remains making that final breakthrough. Unless he finds balance in his approach, there’s no guarantee he will ever lift a Major trophy.
