Alexander Zverev’s second serve ‘not a recipe for long-term success to win multiple Grand Slams’
Alexander Zverev is not among the elite group of favourites to win Roland Garros despite his title run at Rome with former player Sam Querrey saying his second serve is just not up to scratch.
Former world No 2 Zverev heads into the 2024 French Open high on confidence as he won his sixth ATP Masters 1000 trophy last week when he defeated Nicolas Jarry in the final of the Italian Open.
The title run helped the German to climb back to No 4 in the ATP Rankings – his best position since August 2022 – earning him the fourth seed status in Paris.
Naturally talk about Zverev challenging for the Roland Garros trophy increased on the back of his recent success, but his credentials came under scrutiny on the Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast.
Four-time doubles Grand Slam winner Stubbs pointed out that Zverev got “super tight” closing out tennis matches adding that his 2020 US Open defeat – where he was two sets up before losing in five against Dominic Thiem – will continue to “bother him”.
READ MORE: Alexander Zverev’s impending court case sees him get the same treatment as Manchester City
Former world No 11 Querrey explained why he doesn’t think the German is among the top three favourites to win in Paris.
“He has always been like that, see him get tight with the second serve or the groundstrokes. For a guy who is 6ft 6in and can rip the ball, he is not afraid to go behind the baseline and massage the ball over [the net],” he said.
“That [Zverev’s second serve] is just not a recipe for long-term success to win multiple Grand Slams. He could win one, you never know, but over time that’s not going to work.
“Against Jarry he knew he was a better player and doing what he had to do to win that match [in Rome].
“For me, I don’t see him as one of the top 3 favourites at the French Open even though he won Rome.”
Despite being seeded fourth at Roland Garros, Zverev has been handed a nightmare draw as he will face 14-time champion Rafael Nadal in the first round. The Spaniard entered the tournament through is protected ranking.
Nadal leads their head-to-head 7-3, having won their most recent outing in the semi-final of the 2022 French Open although that match was marred by misfortune for Zverev as he suffered a career-threatening ankle injury that forced him to miss the remainder of the season.
Two of Zverev’s wins have come on indoor hard courts at the ATP Finals and Paris Masters while one came on the clay in the quarter-final of the 2021 Madrid Open.
