Zverev News

NuBas

Legend
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vive le beau jeu !

Talk Tennis Guru

reaper

Legend
Alex posted this a few hours ago on his Instagram account:
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For someone who receives so much hate for being arrogant or a bad loser, this comment is pretty classy
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Has the world become a competition to display how graceful you are? Impossible to tell reality from base PR with this stuff.
 

Alba Barragan

Professional
Has the world become a competition to display how graceful you are? Impossible to tell reality from base PR with this stuff.

No, it's not a competition. And yes, it might as well be a product of PR. However, the fact people suggest this is just PR when Zverev does it, yet when other players do it's talked about in a positive way is one of the problems in this forum. The negativity surrounding Z is over the top, so it's necessary to point out the good things he does (which are always ignored) to create some balance.
 

Hyde

Rookie
In the last 3 tournaments Zverev played he reached final in Miami,semi final in MC and won the title in Munich.He is back on track it seems.His results after Montreal the last year to IW this year werent impressive but now he is regaining form - good for him

He always has good clay seasons. Hopefully he can show it in the French Open this year.
 

Nadalgaenger

G.O.A.T.
He is one of the only guys in the field who might have a shot to upset Nadal on clay.,

Rafa would still be a huge favorite but Zverev can cause him problems.
 

reaper

Legend
In the last 3 tournaments Zverev played he reached final in Miami,semi final in MC and won the title in Munich.He is back on track it seems.His results after Montreal the last year to IW this year werent impressive but now he is regaining form - good for him

For whatever reason his coaching arrangement with Ferrero was a disaster. He lost form as soon as he hired him and recaptured it as soon as he fired him.
 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
For whatever reason his coaching arrangement with Ferrero was a disaster. He lost form as soon as he hired him and recaptured it as soon as he fired him.

Sounds like he does better without a former top player coaching him?
 

reaper

Legend
Sounds like he does better without a former top player coaching him?

Might be a specific thing between those two. Ferrero commented when the relationship ended that Zverev was always late for training which suggests he didn't want to be there. Also there's no reason why the fact that someone was a top player will necessarily translate into them being a top coach. Whatever the case, Zverev lost his forehand and confidence under Ferrero.
 

NuBas

Legend
I think Boris Becker has been coaching him off and on, seen some photos of them together at his practices.
 

reaper

Legend
He won two masters with Zverev and an ATP 500

That's being pretty generous to Ferrero. They started speaking to each other at Madrid last year, then working together in person at Washington. He won Rome after they started speaking to each other, then Washington and the Canadian Masters within a couple of weeks of when they were working together. It does have the appearance of the wins coming before Ferrero made any changes (He's not likely to reconstruct his game on the first day), then a string of early defeats for six months once the benefits of Ferrero's coaching kicked in, followed by significant improvement once he sacked Ferrero.
 
That's being pretty generous to Ferrero. They started speaking to each other at Madrid last year, then working together in person at Washington. He won Rome after they started speaking to each other, then Washington and the Canadian Masters within a couple of weeks of when they were working together. It does have the appearance of the wins coming before Ferrero made any changes (He's not likely to reconstruct his game on the first day), then a string of early defeats for six months once the benefits of Ferrero's coaching kicked in, followed by significant improvement once he sacked Ferrero.
Ferrero a Mole from the Spanish Armada? Maybe should be investigated...
 

Plamen1234

Hall of Fame
Zverev reaches another Masters 1000 final this year.If he wins it today he will go on second place in the ATP race to London.In his last 4 tournaments including this he have final in Miami,semi in MC,title in BMW Open and final in Madrid - very good results.
 

Alba Barragan

Professional
I found a very interesting and detailed article about Alex's net game during the final. It seems all the training he's putting into improving this part of his game is finally showing a little bit. He's still away from being 100% comfortable and highly effective there, but this is a good sign that he's actually making some progress :)



Alexander Zverev Playing At Net More, and It’s Working
By
Amy Lundy
-
May 14, 2018


Is Alexander Zverev becoming more like his big brother? Up until this point, the 21-year-old German tennis star has been known exclusively as an aggressive baseliner–a player content to rip groundstrokes from the back of the court and approach the net only when winning the point is a sure thing.

Two interesting questions for Alexander Zverev about being an aggressive baseliner:

  1. For a guy who’s 6’6″, isn’t it a waste of height and wingspan to only play from the back of the court? Imagine the volleys he could reach.
  2. Zverev’s older brother Mischa Zverev is a pure serve-and-volley style player. Mischa has made a career of approaching the net. Wouldn’t at least some of that rub off on his brother?
Now it has, apparently.

Alexander Zverev beat Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-4 at the Madrid Open to claim his third career Masters 1000 title, and it did it with a subtle change in his game–approaching the net more, and doing it very successfully.

What happened in the Madrid Open Final marked a definite contrast in style. One player (Alexander Zverev) chose a more aggressive court position and playing style by willfully approaching more often. The other player (Dominic Thiem) almost never approached the net, stood way back behind the baseline and attempted to use power from the back of the court.

It also marks a change in how Alexander Zverev is playing tennis generally. Last year when he was bounced from the first round of the French Open, he stayed back and ultimately was out-grinded in a baseline battle. It was a waste of height, court, and athletic ability.

It appears the German star is working hard on his short game, and it’s paying off.

Let’s look at the numbers from yesterday’s match.

(First of all, a note on how this data was collected. Official tennis stats count all “net points” the same. An approach hit two feet behind the service line that results in a winner is considered a “net point won” even though the player was closer to the baseline than the net. An overhead hit at the net as a finishing shot–in which a player had no choice but to move forward to finish the point–is also considered a net point won. Those points do not necessarily account for a player actively deciding to move forward to finish the point. For this story, I watched the match and recorded every approach by both players. I looked at intent before and after the shot, as well as where the players were standing when the point ended. My numbers do not always agree with the official match stats because I have the luxury of going back and replaying the video again and again to determine what really happened. Official statisticians must make quick decisions in real time.)

Set #1
Zverev officially approached the net eight times and won four of those points. A closer look at what happened:

  • Zverev willfully stepped into the court with the intention to finish at net six times. The other two times, he was drawn in.
  • Zverev served-and-volleyed once, which resulted in Zverev winning the point by forcing an error after an excellent volley.
  • Zverev made errors approaching or volleying three times.
  • Zverev was passed at net by Thiem with an excellent passing shot for a winner only once.
  • Thiem approached the net only one time- but not by choice. He was drawn in. Thiem won the point after Zverev missed a lob attempt.
Conclusion: It was messy and at times painful for Zverev, but he won the battle of the net, and most importantly, he won the set.

Sticking with this strategy, things got really good for Zverev after that.

Set #2
Zverev approached the net nine times, and won all nine of those points–and he did it with some flair and creativity.

  • Zverev willfully stepped into the court with the intention to finish at net eight times. Once he was drawn in by Thiem.
  • Zverev served-and-volleyed twice. In one instance, he did it on his second serve–cheeky. The other time he did it to set up double championship point–a memorable shot in which Zverev executed a perfect half volley angled for a winner.
  • Zverev’s hands were much more steady on actual volleys than they were in the first set, a possible indication that sometimes he needs time in the match to find those shots rather than abandon the strategy.
As court positioning becomes more sophisticated in tennis, the days of simply ripping shots from the baseline might be coming to a close.

Players like Alexander Zverev making subtle adjustments to play from all positions on the court could emerge as a trend in the sport.

Source: http://lastwordontennis.com/2018/05/14/alexander-zverev-playing-net-more-and-its-working/
 

Zebrev

Hall of Fame
Does anyone know if Sascha will be fit for grass in a couple weeks? Did he wlsay anything in his conference?

BTW, where that injury was around his thigh, you can really tell the physical training that he must be put through. No longer looking that lanky giraffe. Gaining a bit of mass and muscle should help stave off these injuries from overplaying in future.
 

Plamen1234

Hall of Fame
@Alba Barragan Will Zverev play Halle or not ? I think he is scheduled to play but wasnt he having some injury problems after RG. This is why I ask.I hope to see Federer - Zverev match on grass this year
 
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Alba Barragan

Professional
@Alba Barragan - Will Zverev play Halle or not in your opinion? I think he is scheduled to play but wasnt he having some injury problems after RG. This is why I ask.I hope to see Federer - Zverev match on grass this year

Mischa said in his 1st round interview in Stuttgart that Alex was pain-free and recovering well. Built for Tennis also posted some IG stories of him on the gym a couple of days ago, so I presume what happened in his match against Domi was just a minor thing and he's doing well.

About Halle- Last year he played s-Hertogenbosch, Halle, and The Boodles as his warm-up events for Wimby, and seeing as he's not taking part of s-Hertogenbosch this year and The Boodles is just an exhibition, I really can't see him skipping it. Hopefully we will get that match :)
 
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Plamen1234

Hall of Fame
Mischa said in his 1st round interview in Stuttgart that Alex was pain-free and recovering well. Built for Tennis also posted some IG stories of him on the gym a couple of days ago, so I presume what happened in his match against Domi just a minor thing and he's doing well.

About Halle- Last year he played s-Hertogenbosch, Halle, and The Boodles as his warm-up events for Wimby, and seeing as he's not taking part of s-Hertogenbosch this year and The Boodles is just an exhibition, I really can't see him skipping it. Hopefully we will get that match :)

Thanks for the answer.If they meet in Halle it will be in the final I think - Federer and Zverev are the first two seeds.Hopefully this time the match will be more competitive if they meet of course.He should improve his net game though.Overall I think Zverev will do well on grass in the future,probably win Wimbledon.He already has 2 Halle finals which is not bad,
 

Alba Barragan

Professional
Now I'm not so sure about the Fed vs Zverev match anymore :( Not only Z has a tough draw in Halle, he doesn't seem to be at his best.

In his press conference, and according to the translation of a German fan, Alex said a muscle in his right leg was ripped 4.5 cm. The doctors said the healing process would last about 3 to 4 weeks, so he thought he couldn't play Halle and maybe Wimbledon, but it healed within 9 days. The new grown muscle is still really thin so he has to still be careful. But he trained completely normal that day and everything felt really good so he decided that same day he was going to give it a try and play this tournament.
 

NuBas

Legend
Now I'm not so sure about the Fed vs Zverev match anymore :( Not only Z has a tough draw in Halle, he doesn't seem to be at his best.

In his press conference, and according to the translation of a German fan, Alex said a muscle in his right leg was ripped 4.5 cm. The doctors said the healing process would last about 3 to 4 weeks, so he thought he couldn't play Halle and maybe Wimbledon, but it healed within 9 days. The new grown muscle is still really thin so he has to still be careful. But he trained completely normal that day and everything felt really good so he decided that same day he was going to give it a try and play this tournament.

Ouch. If I were him I would not play until Wimbledon. Hope Jez Green knows what he is doing, would not wanna end up like Murray. Gotta get in some flexibility training (Djokovic) along with the weight lifting.
 

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
I feel bad for young new Sascha fans who visit this forum. So much hate for him!!
And the young new Sascha fans are so mentally weak they're negatively influenced by what strangers write about him on the Internet? Why would they care if someone from Timbukto hates him?
 

zverev2018

Semi-Pro
Wow I hadn't noticed this thread before.

Let's all hope that Zverev goes far at Wimbledon and even gets the title! As much as I love Federer and Nadal, it would be an amazing story to see the leading star of the new generation finally add a grandslam title to his 3 masters 1000 trophies. It would be interesting to see someone from the younger players challenge the 2 GOATs. Also it would put him in contention for the no.1 ranking this year. Can't wait!
 

NuBas

Legend
Wow I hadn't noticed this thread before.

Let's all hope that Zverev goes far at Wimbledon and even gets the title! As much as I love Federer and Nadal, it would be an amazing story to see the leading star of the new generation finally add a grandslam title to his 3 masters 1000 trophies. It would be interesting to see someone from the younger players challenge the 2 GOATs. Also it would put him in contention for the no.1 ranking this year. Can't wait!

He has good luck so maybe draw will open for him. Otherwise, I'm not sure with his small injury and other top players coming back strong.
 
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