"He hasn't managed to really develop his game further": Michael Stich gives harsh verdict on Alexander Zverev's past three to four years

Michael Stich, speaking on the SkySports podcast "Maddog & Wingman," shared his thoughts on Alexander Zverev, expressing the view that the German player has not shown significant development in the past four years.

Stich, a former German tennis player who won the 1991 Wimbledon Championship (defeating Boris Becker) and reached two other Grand Slam finals at the US Open and Roland Garros, is now a tennis commentator.

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Zverev faced a significant setback with a serious ankle injury in the semifinals of the 2022 French Open while performing well against the 14-times champion Rafael Nadal. This injury kept him out of the ATP Tour for the entire year, and he made his comeback in 2023. Zverev was initially outside the top 20 until early July but managed to stage a strong late-season campaign to re-enter the top 10 (No. 7) and qualify for the ATP Finals.

Despite these achievements, Michael Stich analyzed Zverev's game and expressed the opinion that the young German player still needs to take the next step to become a better tennis player:

“In most cases the judgments of many observers are well-intentioned; they actually wish that he would take this next step so that he could become an even better tennis player. I think he always sees this as criticism of himself and his game - which it really isn't," Stich stated.

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" In the last three or four years - from my perspective - he hasn't managed to really develop his game further. (...) Whether he can and wants to do that, only he knows,” he added.

"It was a strong comeback year. That was not to be expected, that has to be said very clearly. He was there at the finals. If he was in the summer If someone had said: 'Come on, boy, you're in the Top 8 in Turin,' he would have looked a bit strange at first. But he did it."

Zverev had a strong performance in his 6th participation in the Finals, although it was not enough to qualify for the semifinals. 'Sascha' made a notable start by surprising the world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the first match (6-7, 6-3, 6-4). However, he experienced a defeat against Daniil Medvedev (6-7, 6-4) and concluded with a solid victory over Andrey Rublev (6-4, 6-4).

José Morgado

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