Karen Khachanov explains why one of Alexander Zverev’s routines ‘annoys a lot of players’
Alexander Zverev’s pre-serve routine is under the spotlight after Karen Khachanov expressed his annoyance following their US Open semi-final.
Top seed Zverev produced a clinical display as he beat the Russian 6-3, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (8-6) to reach his third consecutive Grand Slam final of the year following his title at Roland Garros and runner-up finish at Wimbledon.
The German was near-flawless on serve as he was broken only once during the match, but his serve routine – which includes bouncing the ball on average more than 15 times – came under fire from Khachanov during the post-match press conference at Flushing Meadows.
“We play a little bit similar in a way, I would say, but he has a bigger serve, higher [serve] percentage overall also, I would say,” he started off. “But yeah the way he bounces the ball, look, it annoys not only me, but, of course, a lot of players, because it takes so much time.
“You don’t know how to prepare for the serve, you stand there ready, and then it’s another 12 bounces so you again do a split step so you kind of try [to ready yourself again] at every point.
“At the end of the day, if it is within the rules with the time between points, I cannot say anything against that because it’s within the rules so if he extends the time then he gets time violations so it’s pretty simple as that.”
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Before Zverev’s quarter-final match, ESPN revealed that he had already bounced the ball more than 12,000 and that figure no doubt sits close to the 13,000 mark after his three-set victory over Khachanov.
His lengthy ball-bouncing routine will likely be scrutinised during the US Open final against Ben Shelton, but the reigning French Open champion brushed off concerns that he uses it as a tactic to distract his opponent.
“To be honest, I have no idea why it has increased or how many times I actually bounce the ball out there,” he said. “It’s not a tactic. When I am tight, or when I am trying to figure out exactly where to place a 135 mph first serve in a US Open semi-final tiebreak, I bounce the ball.
“I don’t sit there counting them. If it’s within the rules and the clock isn’t buzzing, there is no issue.”
