Alexander Zverev’s showed his flaws have not been erased at Laver Cup
Alexander Zverev appeared to have banished his demons after winning two Grand Slam titles in 2026, but the German confirmed he still has a weakness at the end of matches in his appearance at the Laver Cup.
Zverev was the nearly man at the top of men’s tennis over the last decade, as first the trio of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic halted his ambitions of winning Grand Slam titles.
That was before Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner started becoming serial collectors of the biggest titles in men’s tennis.
Zverev looked destined to remain in the shadows as he served for the match against Alcaraz in the Australian Open semi-final back in January, only for the Spaniard to roar back at him and finally clinch the title.
The months since then have changed Zverev’s career as he won the French Open in June and backed that up by winning the US Open in New York earlier this month.
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He spoke after the second of those two wins about feeling different on court, with the pressure of trying to win a major title now lifted from his shoulders.
Yet when pressure was applied by Alex de Minaur in a compelling Laver Cup tie on Saturday, his old demons returned to haunt him.
His increasingly repetitive habit of bouncing the ball when he is nervous before delivering a serve gives his opponents an insight into his mindset and that edginess was noted by De Minaur as he broke Zverev’s serve when he had a chance to finish off the match at the end of the second set.
He then cashed in on nerves from the German once again as he saved a match point before winning the tie-break.
Many will argue defeats in the Laver Cup are not hugely significant in the overall story of a player, but this had to be seen as a relapse for Zverev as he confirmed pressure remains an enemy to him.
Then on the final day of the 2026 Laver Cup, Zverev found himself feeling the pressure again as he had the chance to push Team Europe over the winning line by beating Learner Tien.
While he got there in the end, Zverev looked edgy at the end of both sets and was relieved to get over the winning line to give his team a win.
There is no doubt that the German is a powerhouse performer when he is at his best, but the mental frailties that have affected him in the past have not been ironed out despite his Grand Slam wins this year.
His curious celebration at the end of the US Open final against Ben Shelton highlighted how he can be locked into a home in matches, as he didn’t even realise he won the match until his team pointed it out to him.
That may have been the best solution to Zverev’s tension issues as when he has time to think about the moment of victory, he has a habit of letting it slip.
He mentioned after the win against Shelton that he ‘would have been really nervous’ if he realised the score and all of his opponents know that scoreboard pressure is a weapon they can use against Zverev.
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Any suggestion that he has rid himself of that problem after becoming a double Grand Slam champion was banished after the defeat against De Minaur.
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