Andy Roddick names best player not to win a Grand Slam and overlooks Alexander Zverev
Andy Roddick has overlooked Alexander Zverev as the best male player not to win a Grand Slam title after the German’s triumph at the Paris Masters.
The former world No 1 named Spanish legend David Ferrer as the player who he feels deserves this distinction.
Zverev delivered a superb performance to dismantle Ugo Humbert 6-2, 6-2 in the final of the 2024 Paris Masters on Sunday. The win saw him claim his seventh ATP Masters 1000 crown and 23rd career singles title.
The 27-year-old has returned to a career-high ranking of world No 2 following his second Masters victory of the season. He also won the Italian Open in May.
The German is a two-time Grand Slam runner-up and lost both finals in five sets: to Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open and Carlos Alcaraz at this year’s French Open. Zverev is a two-time ATP Finals champion and he was a gold medallist at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
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Ferrer, who played between 2000 and 2019, shared his prime years with the three greatest players of all time: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
The Spaniard was a runner-up at the 2013 French Open and reached a further five Grand Slam semi-finals, while he secured 27 ATP titles.
He won his biggest title at the 2012 Paris Masters and was also a six-time Masters 1000 runner-up, while he was a finalist at the 2007 ATP Finals.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Tomas Berdych, Marcelo Rios, Nikolay Davydenko, David Nalbandian, Tommy Haas and Alex Corretja are also arguably some of the best men’s players not to win a major.
In reply to a tweet asking if Zverev is the best ATP player ever without a Grand Slam title, Roddick put forward Ferrer’s name and argued the Spaniard gets disregarded in the debate.
“Not nearly enough people say David Ferrer. So so so good,” the 2003 US Open champion wrote.
Zverev will play the final tournament of his 2024 campaign at the 2024 ATP Finals in Turin next week as he seeks a third year-end championships crown to add to his 2018 and 2021 titles.
The world No 2 holds an excellent 66-20 (76.7%) from the 22 events he has played this year (including United Cup and Laver Cup).
