Alexander Zverev will be one of the contenders for French Open, says former world No 1
Alexander Zverev’s recent drop in form is a “natural reaction” following his Australian Open final heartbreak, according to tennis great Mats Wilander.
The world No 2 started his year with a bang as he reached his third Grand Slam final, but he once again came up short as he was blown away by Jannik Sinner with the Italian winning 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.
Many predicted Zverev would kick on after that, especially with Sinner’s three-month ban starting at the beginning of February.
However, he went off the boil during the South American swing as he failed to make it past the quarter-finals at his three events while he fared even worse at the Sunshine Double as he lost in the second round at Indian Wells and the last 16 in Miami.
Seven-time Grand Slam winner Wilander says he is not too surprised that Zverev has struggled after his Melbourne defeat.
“Now that I watched him play, I do feel that he looks… I wouldn’t say he is tired, but he looks a little bit like ‘Okay I kind of had enough at the moment’ and I think it is a natural reaction,” he told Eurosport Germany.
“I can only speak from experience, once I lost a Grand Slam final, the difference between winning a Grand Slam in terms of confidence and losing a final is like night and day.
“You would think it wouldn’t be that big a difference because you win six matches and you win seven matches [when you win the final].
“But to win six matches and lose in the final, it takes you two to three months before you figure out first of all ‘what the hell happened’, second of all ‘I had my chances’ or third, even worse ‘I didn’t have my chances’.
“I think that’s what Zverev is dealing with [as he might think] ‘I didn’t actually have my chances in that match’. And that is feeling awful right now. Right now [Zverev is thinking] ‘I am not sure I think I can beat any player in the world’.
“So I think it’s a natural dip in his form and I do think he is going to be back. He is too good a player, he works too hard. His confidence I think against normal players is too high for him to lose early.”
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The clay-court season is now in full swing and Zverev has always been good on the surface. Last year he won the Italian Open and finished runner-up at Roland Garros.
Wilander feels it is only a matter of time before the world No 2 regains form.
The Swede added: “I think by the time Madrid comes around, which is one of his favourite tournaments on clay, I do think we are going to be talking about Sascha Zverev as one of the contenders at the French Open again.”
Zverev is a two-time champion at the Madrid Open, but he is confident he will return to form at this week’s Monte Carlo Masters.
His best run at the tournament was in 2022 when he reached the semi-final while last year he lost in the third round.
“I lost a few matches I shouldn’t have lost because I was always in the lead. But I played better recently in Miami and am now really looking forward to Monte Carlo,” the German said.
Zverev added on Eurosport. “I’ve won all the other Masters tournaments on clay and have reached the semifinals here twice. I hope I can play good tennis this week, and I believe I can win here too.”
