‘Alexander Zverev is a great champion – but he has one key weakness’
Alexander Zverev has been told he has a key weakness in his game that can be exploited by Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz by former ATP world No 17 Fabrice Santoro.
The German currently occupies second position in the ATP Rankings between world No 1 Sinner and third-placed Alcaraz.
Zverev lost convincingly to Sinner in the final of the 2025 Australian Open — a defeat that took his record in Grand Slam finals to 0-3.
The 27-year-old, who is perhaps the most accomplished player without a major title in tennis history, fell in five sets to Alcaraz in the 2024 French Open championship match.
Following his painful Melbourne defeat, Zverev endured a brutal run at three tournaments in Latin America in February: the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires and ATP 500s in Rio and Acapulco.
The world No 2 lost to Francisco Cerundolo in the quarter-finals of the Argentina Open, Francisco Comesana in the quarter-finals of the Rio Open and Learner Tien in the second round of the Mexican Open. Zverev was the top seed and favourite at all three events.
Speaking on L’Equipe‘s Air Open podcast, Santoro praised Zverev’s quality while identifying what he feels is holding the German back from taking the next step.
“He has a lot of quality, he’s a great champion, but he doesn’t have a very good hand,” assessed the Frenchman, who won six ATP singles tournaments.
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“He’s not comfortable [at the net] and unfortunately, when you take passing shots from Alcaraz or Sinner, you have to have a good volley, otherwise you get pierced.
“When you are so strong without playing forward, it is difficult to get out of your comfort zone. It is up to Zverev to say to himself, ‘okay, I can be more aggressive’.”
After the Australian Open, another former French player — Arnaud Clement — argued Zverev will not overcome Sinner or Alcaraz at a major unless he evolves his game further.
“I am always very tough [on Zverev], and it is not a particular desire on my part to be so,” the 2001 Australian Open finalist told Eurosport.
“But when, for example, he makes comments about the work put in, in fact the work put in is visible, that is to say that we do not need to say it, it is visible on the court.
“If we arrive the day before Roland Garros and we say to ourselves that it is perhaps the moment for Zverev, we must especially see what will happen before.
“And if there is no evolution in his game between now and Roland Garros, it will be the same thing and he will not be able to win. ‘Not win’ is a bit harsh because it depends on the circumstances: if Sinner is suspended and Alcaraz injured, maybe he will have a chance.
“But if there are these two guys who are still in the draw and in full possession of their means, for me, he has no chance of beating them both. His wait-and-see attitude can never be compensated for by his quality of service.”
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