Alexander Zverev played a very intense season, winning the Masters 1000 in Rome during the spring confirming he is back at the top after his terrible ankle injury in 2022. With Rafael Nadal often off the court and Novak Djokovic showing early signs of decline, many fans and insiders thought 2024 was the right year to see Sascha lift a Grand Slam title.
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The German player lost to Daniil Medvedev in the semifinal of the Australian Open, failing to capitalize on a large number of chances. The champion from Hamburg reached the final at the French Open, where he was two sets ahead of Carlos Alcaraz before suffering a fierce comeback from the 21-year-old from Murcia.
At the Wimbledon Championships and the US Open Zverev was defeated by the same opponent, Taylor Fritz, who was very good at taking advantage of Sascha’s inability to manage the pressure. The 2020 US Open finalist had a great chance in New York after the premature eliminations of Carlitos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic in the first week, but failed to reach the final against Sinner playing a horrible match against the American ace.
Although he is back at a good level, Alexander still seems far from being able to undermine Sinner and Alcaraz. The German needs to take another step to win a Grand Slam title and reach the top of the ATP ranking, having to improve his mental strength especially in the decisive moments of the big tournaments.
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Sascha feels better
The World number 3 suffered from a bad pneumonia after the Laver Cup, a problem that prevented him from playing in Beijing and forced him to a premature defeat in Shanghai against David Goffin. Zverev will be playing in Vienna this week, before flying to Paris-Bercy for the final Masters 1000 of the season.
It will really take time, you have to take the right medicines, clean the lungs, it is not a matter of a few weeks. I hope to be 100% in Australia next January” – the German ace said before the start of the Vienna ATP 500. “Now I feel better, but my lung problem is not gone, I’m still there. I still feel a little more tired than I’m used to, but I was either taking a free season or playing as I can. The doctor told me that if I play I will not delay recovery or make it worse, so I’m happy to give 100% of what I have” – he added.
Zverev also reflected on his season: “I feel like my season was a bit in patches. I’ve had great moments, I’ve had very stable moments I think throughout the beginning of the season. You know, then, of course, the clay court season for me was great, winning Rome, making the finals of the French Open, of course a very bitter end to the end of the French Open, but that’s how it goes.
I felt I was playing the best tennis of my life on grass court this year during Wimbledon until I got hurt. I feel like after the Olympics maybe my level dropped a little bit, but again, I was physically struggling, I was not healthy. I didn’t know what it was. I had a very bad cough for about two and a half months, which nobody knew where it came from, and now at least we have answers. We know what it was, we know where it came from, so I’m happy about that. I definitely had a little bit of a drop off in level after the Olympics maybe a little bit, so I’m hoping I can get back to top form again.”
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Some regrets
Although he is one of the most successful players of his generation, many think that Alexander is an unfinished player having never won a Major title. The coming year will be crucial for Sascha’s ambitions, as he will not only need to play at a constant level to finally enter the history of this sport. The German champion plays well on all surfaces and has the right weapons to lift the most important trophies, but he will have to show courage that too often lacked in the most prestigious tournaments.
Zverev dreams of closing 2024 as the world number 2: “It would be great to finish the year as number 2 in the world. I think finishing the year as number 2 and starting 2025 there would be amazing. Of course, I know that Carlos is playing a great tennis right now and I know that I have to be at my best to achieve that goal”.
