Former Olympic champion singles out Alexander Zverev as best player of next generation: "For his size, he moves incredibly"

Former world number nine Marc Rosset believes that Germany’s Alexander Zverev has the potential to be successful like Serbia’s Novak Djokovic.

The 26-year-old is the current world number nine and has never managed to win a Grand Slam.

His best outing came in the US Open where he was the runner-up after losing the final to Austria’s Dominic Thiem in a five-set thriller with a score of 2–6, 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6(8–6).

On the other hand, Djokovic is often regarded as the greatest player in the history of men’s singles tennis in the Open era, having won 24 Grand Slams in his illustrious career.

Despite such a contrasting record, Rosset, who won the 1992 Olympic gold medal in the men’s singles category, suggested that Zverev has the potential to be successful on the court like the current world number one, only if he starts playing aggressively.

“Zverev. When he plays aggressively inside the court, for me he is by far the most dominant player,” he said. “If he plays like he did against Nadal in Roland Garros, he can dominate any player.

“He beat Roger and Djokovic at the ATP Finals, he serves up missiles, he can move on the baseline like Djokovic and he can accelerate the ball at any time. He covers the court like Djokovic.

“If he plays aggressively, the outcome of the match is in his hands. I love this guy. And for his size, he moves incredibly. It’s very funny because if you look at [Stefanos] Tsitsipas, [Daniil] Medvedev and Zverev – Zverev moves the best for his size and then there’s his serve.”

Zverev has had a difficult time on the court recently where he was knocked out of the Japan Open after losing to Australia’s Jordan Thompson in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-4.