Martina Navratilova details the secret to Alexander Zverev’s recent success
After spending much of his career as tennis’ biggest ‘nearly man’, Alexander Zverev has been revitalised following his Roland Garros triumph.
Zverev capitalised on the early exits of Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner in Paris to win his very first Grand Slam title at the Paris event.
He’s followed it up by reaching the final of Wimbledon, despite never reaching past the fourth round of the grass court Grand Slam previously in his career.
Zverev will play Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final in his toughest test yet, as he looks to end a nine-match streak without a victory against the World No 1.
No matter what happens in the Wimbledon final, it is clear Zverev is enjoying a new lease of life since winning Roland Garros – and Martina Navratilova believes she knows why.
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Speaking on The Tennis Channel, the multi-time Grand Slam champion said: “Yeah, he’s much more aggressive with his position, getting inside the court moving forward better. Moving better to the low balls, slice has gotten a lot better.”
Navratilova said Zverev has even added new weapons to his arsenal over the summer months, which has seen him become the World No 2 in the ATP Tour rankings.
“He’s even added a drop shot, and he’s so much better at the net,” said Navratilova. “I mean, he was, like, allergic to the net. Now, he’s moving forward by choice!”
Zverev has dropped just two sets at Wimbledon so far in matches against Alexander Blockx, Valentin Royer, Marcos Giron, Jiri Lehecka, Taylor Fritz, and Arthur Fery.
Since the beginning of Roland Garros, Zverev has won 16 matches and lost just one. That came against Fritz at the Halle Open, as he was beaten in the semi-finals of the ATP 500 event.
The German star has often been criticised for his lack of consistency, but it’s hard to argue that he’s not now in the best form of his life. While he will enter the final as the underdog, he’s arguably in the best position he’s ever been to topple Sinner.
If he does defeat the Italian, it will be his first win against the World No 1 since the 2023 US Open, when he knocked the star out of the round of 16.
He is looking to become just the seventh man in tennis history to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year.
The German would join an elite list of tennis legends by winning the Grand Slam titles back-to-back, which includes Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Carlos Alcaraz.
