The COVID-19 pandemic might have forced all professional tennis tournaments to come to a halt but Alexander Zverev is still keeping himself busy on the court.
Currently staying in Florida during the pandemic, the world No.7 is continuing with his training routines as best as he can. Being able to do so at the nearby Saddlebrook Tennis Academy, where he was recently criticised for taking a photo that violated social distancing rules. Zverev has told Sky Sports Germany that he is able to train three times a day. Including working out both on the court and in the gym.
The tour suspension came just weeks after the 23-year-old achieved his best ever performance at a grand slam event. At the Australian Open he reached the semi-finals before losing to Dominic Thiem in four sets. Zverev states that his ultimate dream is to win all four majors before he retires from the sport, but admits that he needs to improve certain areas of his game.
“Tenniswise I try to develop a more active way of play. I can play many balls into the court. But I want to come to the net more, improve my backhand and serve, too.” He said.
“I often practice technique’s with my brother’s coach. He is a tennis freak and knows so much. Jez Green shows me a lot of stats and videos”
Perhaps one of the most noticeable areas of Zverev’s game in recent months have been his at times irregular serve. During last year’s US Open Boris Becker said that he was ‘too unidimensional and readable’ for his opponents. It was at that tournament where the German struggled behind his second serve in all of his matches. Based on the four matches he played, Zverev won just 43.5% of those points (81 out of 186).
Nevertheless, Zverev believes his recent misfortunes with his serve stemmed from issues he was experiencing both on as well as off the court last year. When he was involved in a legal battle with his former manager.
“All of a sudden the serve was a thing last year. Before 2019 I never had problems regarding my serve. I always had my rhythm before, Since then it is a bit like – when I’m losing it, then I am losing it.” Zverev reflected.
“All this has to do with problems from last year. But you could see at this year’s Australian Open. When I’m serving well, then I am one of the best players out there. But when I don’t serve well, I can lose to many players.”
Zverev started 2020 by winning six out of 11 matches played. So far in his career he has won 11 ATP titles and peaked at a high of 3rd in the world rankings.
