If Alexander Zverev isn’t careful, he’ll end up joining the lost generation

For a long time now, Alexander Zverev has been seen as the one player capable of finally putting the Big Three to the sword. Indeed, the German was earmarked early on in his career as the generational talent skilful enough to usher the kings of the sport into retirement. But it hasn't quite turned out that way. In fact, here we are in 2021, still waiting for the 24-year-old to bring the curtain down on the Big Three’s final act. Will it ever happen?

Tennis fans would be hard-pressed to say yes after Rafa Nadal comprehensively beat the German in straight sets during the quarter-final of the Italian Open in May. Indeed, the King of Clay sent Zverev on his way and laughed off any notions about the young German being ready to dethrone the best the game has ever witnessed throughout the history of the sport.

Of course, it’s not a personal slight on Zverev; he joins an extraordinarily long list of players to have been consistently beaten by the Big Three over time. But if he’s not careful, he will join the lost generation of skilful players to have been unfortunate enough to have been on the professional circuit at the same time as Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Nadal.

This is partly due to the fact that it's looking increasingly unlikely that Zverev will be able to run down the clock and let the process of aging take care of his grand slam ambitions. At 24, Zverev probably has at the very least another decade left at the top. Granted, the Big Three in all likelihood won’t still be playing in 10 years' time, although one can never say for sure as far as these tennis greats are concerned; however, there’s reason to believe that two of them will be around for perhaps another five years. Indeed, if Nadal and Djokovic follow Federer’s lead and play until they are 40, then Zverev will have to find a way to topple them or else face losing his most productive years to the genius of these two legends. 

That may seem like quite an uncompromising view, but the fact of the matter is that Zverev doesn't look capable of matching the performance of any of the Big Three at present. There have been whispers about the German’s chances at the French Open, but he is seen as an outsider in the sportsbooks and there’s very little to back that up given Nadal is seen as the heavy favourite to defend the Roland Garros title that he won in the autumn of 2020.

Indeed, it would be far-fetched to think that the 24-year-old will stop the Spaniard's coronation in Paris, especially when you follow form and not feelings. And the form table predicts one winner and one winner only in France’s capital. Although, there will inevitably be spells when Zverev is on top and the momentum of the game swings in his favour – being agile using in-play betting is one of the most important factors that you need to take into account when betting on tennis. Being aware of the various markets and how they work is also pivotal as these can provide areas of values even when a match is one-sided.

In reality, many were expecting Zverev to have won multiple grand slams by 2021, but the wheels of the Big Three just keep on turning. Zverev will need to find a way to halt this momentum in order to avoid becoming one of tennis’ many forgotten men.