Germany’s Alexander Zverev hopes to raise the bar further in the new year after winning both the Olympic title and ATP Finals during 2021.
The world No.3 won a total of six ATP titles during this year which also include two Masters 1000 titles in Madrid and Cincinnati. He claimed a total of 12 wins over top 10 opposition and at one stage of the season was on a 16-match winning streak. Producing a total of 59 ATP Tour wins in 2021, only Russia’s Daniil Medvedev has won more than him with 63.
Zverev is hoping to capitalize on a stellar past few months as he chases after his maiden Grand Slam title. The closest he has got to winning a majour was finishing runner-up at the 2020 US Open to Dominic Thiem. Heading into the Australian Open he will be aiming to derail the stronghold of the Big Three who are each experiencing their own issues. Roger Federer isn’t playing due to injury and Rafael Nadal is on the comeback from a foot issue and COVID-19. Meanwhile, nine-time champion Novak Djokovic is still to confirm if he will be playing at the event.
“The first six months of this season, Novak has dominated tennis,” Zverev told reporters on Friday.
“He’s won all three grand slams, won every single big title there is.
“But in the last six months of the season, I think the titles were a bit more split between Novak, Daniil (Medvedev), and myself.”
It is not the first time the German is heading into a new season after winning a big title. He also triumphed at the 2018 ATP Finals but went on to have a somewhat mixed 2019 where he won one Tour title and only managed to reach the last eight at one Grand Slam event.
However, this time round Zverev believes he will not encounter such problems due to a greater maturity on the Tour. Openly saying that he wants 2022 ‘to be the best’ of his career so far.
“I was a lot younger. I was 21 years old going into the 2019 season. It was my first very big title at the Nitto ATP Finals in 2018,” he reflected.
“I do feel I’m a little bit of a different player but also I’m a different person, I think. I’ve had a lot more experience on the court, I had a lot more experience outside the court.
“I know how to handle maybe the media a little bit better. I know how to handle pressure maybe a tiny bit better, as well.”
Zverev will return to action next week at the ATP Cup in Sydney where he will be leading Germany in Group C. They are set to play Canada, Great Britain and the USA during the Group stages. This year Germany reached the semi-finals before losing to eventual champions Russia.
