"Zverev doesn't have the qualities of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer" says Mats Wilander

Mats Wilander enjoys watching Zverev play but the Swede is oftentimes frustrated by the level the German produces in important matches.

Zverev entered the 2022 Australian Open as a dark horse candidate to win the event especially after Djokovic was deported from the country. The German had his best year in 2021 with many big matches won and some important trophies. However, his result in Australia disappointed many.

However, Wilander was quite honest in his assessment that the result is not as shocking as some might think. He actually believes Zverev is not good enough yet:

"I still don't see in Alexander Zverev the qualities that I saw in time with him in Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Sascha is not as dominant as they are and I think it is an emotional issue. We saw it very well against Denis Shapovalov, we have to be honest."

Read also

"Nadal lost four kg during the match against Shapovalov" says coach Carlos Moya

Despite that Wilander believes that Zverev will get there this year. He believes the German will win one grand slam trophy this year and that tennis fans need to be patient with some of the younger guys:

"The Big 3 have set the bar so high that you have to be patient with young people. I am still convinced that Zverev will win a Grand Slam this year. I hope it was just a bad day and that he understands why. In the next few years, there will be seven, eight, nine or ten players who will share the most important titles."

He named some of them:

"Sascha is certainly one of them, without forgetting Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jannik Sinner, Dominic Thiem, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Carlos Alcaraz and Matteo Berrettini."