New world number two Alexander Zverev has complained of ‘no variety’ in tennis during his run to the final in Paris.
The German advanced to his first hard-court final of the season at the Paris Masters on Saturday, defeating former champion Holger Rune.
Ending the 21-year-old’s slim chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals in Turin, Alexander Zverev held off a late surge from Rune.
Zverev was forced to recover after failing to serve out the match at 5-4, ultimately securing a 6-3, 7-6(4) win in one hour and 47 minutes.
This victory marked Zverev’s 65th win of the year, tying him with Jannik Sinner for the most Tour wins in 2024.
Even if he fails to secure the title, Zverev has leapfrogged Carlos Alcaraz in the ATP rankings, who lost earlier this week to Ugo Humbert, who has also progressed to the final.
Alexander Zverev laments ‘no variety’ in tennis
Despite a rather supreme run this week, with vengeance taken over Arthur Fils, who toppled Zverev in Hamburg in the summer, the German has been vocal about his grievances with the tour.
With the Paris conditions having received criticism this week, Zverev took his chance to broaden the grievance, complaining of a lack of variety across all three surfaces.
He told the Tennis Channel: “Yeah, I mean, it gives us a different look at tennis, I think, for sure. It’s more entertaining,” he said of the speedy indoor courts in Paris.
“Maybe, you know, to some regards, I think we kind of basically play on the same speed of surface, same speed of court throughout the whole year, whether we play on clay, hard or grass these days, it kind of feels the same almost,” he said with frustration.
“So I always like when there’s a change up. I always like when there’s something different. I feel like the balls have slowed down so much since COVID, since the start of COVID. I’ve talked to some factories, I’ve talked to some manufacturers, they’ve changed it as well. So the balls are about 30 to 40% slower on average,” Zverev revealed. “So that kind of goes into the discussion as well. You know, we’re just playing on slow surfaces with slow balls nowadays.
“And is that the path forward for tennis? I don’t know, maybe. But I feel like now everybody kind of plays the same style of tennis, you know, there’s no game styles anymore, there’s no variety in tennis anymore,” the German insisted.
“I feel like now it’s all about power. Now it’s all about who can hit the ball harder. And I think, you know, balls and surface take a big role and big play in that.”
With Zverev a player who has historically relied on shorter points credit to a huge serve, it does ring strange that he is complaining of decreasing ‘variety’ and ‘game styles’.
- READ MORE: Alexander Zverev breaks Boris Becker record after reaching the final of the Paris Masters
What is Alexander Zverev’s record against Ugo Humbert?
Ugo Humbert reached his first ATP Masters 1000 final after defeating Karen Khachanov 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-3 in Paris.
The Frenchman thrilled the Parisian crowd with bruising ball-striking, taking advantage of Khachanov’s physical struggles late in the third set to become the fifth Frenchman in history to reach the final.
Having played each other twice, the pair have both notched up a victory each, with Humbert and Zverev coincidentally last meeting at the Paris Masters in 2023.
| Event | Year | Winner | Surface | Score |
| ATP Masters 1000 Paris | 2023 | Alexander Zverev | Indoor Hard | 6-4, 6-7(3), 7-6(5) |
| Halle | 2021 | Ugo Humbert | Grass | 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3 |
Zverev and Humbert have built a tight rivalry, with both of their previous matches going the distance and featuring at least one tie-break.
Their upcoming Paris final promises to be a close contest, especially given Humbert’s recent win over Alcaraz and his strong support from a vibrant home crowd.
With the momentum of his Paris run, Humbert might just be able to secure his first Masters 1000 title on home soil.
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