Andre Agassi fires surprise warning to Alexander Zverev even if he wins French Open
Andre Agassi is worried about Alexander Zverev settling into bad habits, even if he finally breaks his Grand Slam duck.
The German has lost all three of his major finals, with Dominic Thiem, Carlos Alcaraz, and Jannik Sinner all pipping him to the post.
However, Thiem is now retired, and Alcaraz and Sinner are both out of this year’s French Open. Moreover, Novak Djokovic is not in the picture, presenting a priceless opportunity for the 29-year-old.
On Friday, Zverev beat Jakub Mensik in four sets to reach his second Roland Garros final, where he will meet either Matteo Arnaldi or Flavio Cobolli on Sunday.
The 6ft 6in player pulled off a deserved victory on Friday over his young Czech opponent but before the encounter, eight-time major winner Agassi had his doubts about the world No 3.
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The American admitted he was “frustrated” by Zverev‘s apparent reluctance to make changes to his game to take him to the next level. Indeed, he can stand too far behind the baseline and play too passive.
And even if he comes out on top this weekend, and finally wins his first major, Agassi wants to see a more proactive and aggressive German going forward.
He said on TNT Sports US, “If he’s going to change that, he needs to show me he’s willing to make changes in his game that point towards improving. And that’s one thing that I’ve been a little frustrated with.
“I’ve watched some of the play of Sascha now for years, and it’s like he’s been very stubborn is the way he chooses to go about his game because he believes somewhere along the line it’s good enough to beat these guys.
“These guys aren’t here. He has to make sure that his game is good enough to beat the rest of these guys. I think he believes it can.
“But if he wants to be in that neighbourhood and that altitude, he needs to work on things that’ll make him that’ll make him a better player regardless if he wins this tournament or not.
“One of the downsides that I see happening as he wins this tournament and settles into the same kind of tennis. He has way more upside than he’s showing us.”
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