Alexander Zverev will hope to defend his Olympic Gold at the Paris Olympics – but his form at Wimbledon won’t be doing him any favors in Paris.
Alexander Zverev bowed out in the fourth round at Wimbledon for the third time, with the German having never reached a quarter-final at the All England Club.
With his knee heavily strapped after a slip during his third-round victory over Britain’s Cam Norrie, the fourth seed entered his last 16 match against Taylor Fritz as the only player remaining whose serve had not yet been broken.
After a grueling five-set battle which the German-led by two sets to love, Fritz upped his level and broke twice in the remaining three sets to win 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 6-3.
It was a brutal déjà vu for the German who agonizingly lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the French Open in June.
Sam Querrey highlights the key problem that is holding Alexander Zverev back
The 2017 Wimbledon semi-finalist Sam Querrey, like Zverev, stands at six-foot-six and is known for his big serve.
The now-retired American outlined how Zverev’s passive approach in the crunch points is what is holding him back.
In NBC’s French Connection podcast, via YouTube, Querrey said: “It’s got to be in his head at this point. I think watching him, if you have noticed, it seems that when he gets up two sets to love or to one, he gets a little tentative towards the latter end of sets.
“He doesn’t hit out on shots,” Querrey continued. “I think the next time he is in a fifth set or is up in a match and it gets close, he needs to lose the match by hitting out on the ball. I feel like at this point he is losing these matches letting the other player dictate play, and he’s six-foot-six inches and hits the ball on both sides, he has a huge serve.
“I want to see him impose his will a bit when these matches get tough and lose more on his terms. If he does that and loses it will at least give him a bit more confidence. The way he is going down right now can’t feel good and it has got to be in his head.”
Will Alexander Zverev ever win a major?
The German’s career five-set record is not terrible, having won 23/35 fifth sets according to ATP statistics.
However, at the moments that truly matter, Zverev has nearly always fallen short, tightened up, and dismally failed with an appalling five-set record just this year.
In the three grand slams in 2024, Zverev lost from two sets up in the semi-final at the Australian Open, two sets to one up in the French Open final, and two sets up in the fourth round of Wimbledon.
Zverev also won’t need reminding of the 2020 US Open final where he led by two sets before Dominic Thiem fought back to win.
These types of defeats would undoubtedly get under the skin of anyone and with tennis a sport of such fine margins, a track record like this is sure to be hindering Zverev when the big moment arises.
With Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner having truly arrived on the world stage, already picking up four majors between them, Zverev may well be running out of road if he ever wants to stem this horrific run.
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