What Alexander Zverev now does every time he watches tennis during a Grand Slam tournament which Jim Courier thinks is ‘smart’

Follow us on Google Discover

Alexander Zverev is continually trying to make small changes to his game in a bid to help him cross the line to win an elusive Grand Slam title.

Zverev lost the Australian Open final to Jannik Sinner back in January, in what was his third consecutive major final defeat.

This was the first of those Grand Slam finals that the German had not won a set in, with Zverev appearing devastated in the on-court ceremony on the Rod Laver Arena.

There appears to have been a post-Australian Open final hangover for Zverev, who suffered an early Indian Wells exit, which was his most recent tournament.

What Alexander Zverev now does during Grand Slam tournaments

After losing the Australian Open final, Zverev said Sinner was far better than him and every other player in the world.

However, statistically Zverev does something better than Sinner and Alcaraz and is trying everything he can to be able to cross the line.

When speaking on the latest episode of his podcast with brother Mischa, Zverev revealed that he switches his phone off during major tournaments to block out outside opinions.

The world number two also confessed that he turns the television on silent to avoid hearing any commentary.

“If you lose a tennis match and people have money on it, social media can be a slaughterhouse sometimes,” explained Zverev. “Me, how I deal with it, during the most important tournaments during Grand Slams, I have my phone off.

“Nobody can reach me. I know the people closest to me are around me anyway, which is my family, my coaching staff, my partner. And I try not to care about anyone else. That is how I do it. I am not successful yet! But I am hoping.

“That’s the only way to deal with it because the more you read about it and the more you look into it, the more doubt you start to get. Like ‘Maybe my forehand isn’t good enough or maybe my serve isn’t good enough or maybe Carlos Alcaraz is playing too good for you’.”

“So I am trying to be completely away, I don’t have my phone on. If I have tennis on TV I watch them on silent, so I am trying to be as far away from any outside noise.”

Jim Courier reacts to Alexander Zverev’s decision to switch his phone off at Grand Slams

While this may seem like a big sacrifice, podcast guest and four-time Grand Slam champion Jim Courier believes Zverev’s approach is sensible.

The former world number one also admitted that he emphasized with players in today’s era who have to deal with social media as an extra pressure.

“You are smart to do that,” Courier told Zverev. “I really do emphasize with the current playing group and what they have to deal with because when you grow up with a phone in your pocket and all your friends are on whatever it is, whether it’s TikTok or whatever they are on. You don’t want to miss out on that, I am sure.”

Although he is yet to win the biggest prize in tennis, Zverev has been backed to win a major in the future.

Zverev believes Roland Garros is his best chance, having reached the final for the first time last year.

Roland Garros will be the next major tournament, but first Zverev will seek an upturn in form at the Miami Open.