Andy Roddick believes Alexander Zverev finds himself in a “weird place” after losing his third Grand Slam final at the Australian Open.
The World No. 2 was defeated 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 by Jannik Sinner in last Sunday’s men’s singles final in Melbourne, struggling to create any break point opportunities as his Italian opponent dominated throughout. This marked Zverev’s third loss in a Grand Slam final, following his defeats at the 2020 US Open against Dominic Thiem and the 2024 French Open against Carlos Alcaraz.
Zverev’s inability to clinch a first Grand Slam title stands in stark contrast to the success of Alcaraz and Sinner, who are a combined 7-0 in major finals. The Spaniard and the Italian, aged 21 and 23 respectively, have now won six of the last seven Grand Slam titles.
While Zverev is ranked second in the world—above Alcaraz—and has claimed seven Masters 1000 titles, an Olympic gold medal, and two ATP Finals titles, Roddick feels the German’s achievements are somewhat undervalued due to his lack of a Grand Slam victory.
On his podcast Served, the former World No. 1 shared his thoughts: “Imagine you have a global conference in whatever you do, and you’re surrounded by the best of the best in your field. You know you’re good at something, but then you see someone do it even better. Imagine you win that competition for two weeks, but lose to just one person, and people call it a failure. That’s a weird place to be, and that’s kind of where Zverev is right now.”
Since Zverev’s latest loss, there’s been much debate about whether his struggles in Grand Slam finals stem from his playing style, a lack of self-belief, or perhaps a combination of both. However, Roddick, the 2003 US Open champion, believes Zverev’s style of play might not be easy to change, even if he wanted to.
“He’s professional, he’s always fit, he does all the things that top players do,” Roddick said. “But I think his swing production is a bit more difficult for him than others, and people don’t always understand that dictates his style of play.”
Roddick added, “I wanted him to just go for it, but he’s hitting first serves big, he’s hitting second serves big. How else can he just go for it without compromising what makes him effective?”
