Alexander Zverev is still missing the big title – and the young players make life difficult for the 27 -year -old. The former world -class player Andreas Maurer believes in the potential of the best German tennis professional – if he changes something.
It is and remains the very big dream of Alexander Zverev: the profit at least one of the four Grand Slam-Tournaments is one of his great obsessions. Without a title gain in the Australian operasat Roland Garrosin Wimbledon or with the US Open the best German tennis player at the moment would probably see his career as unfinished.
However, the 27-year-old has been running this dream for many years. Whenever he had the opportunity and reached the final – for example in New York (2020), in Paris (2024) or in Melbourne (2025) – he went off the pitch as a loser.
Inner demons
“Above all, he has to defeat his inner demons to create this great success”says the former world -class player and coach Andreas Maurer of the Sportschau. Zverev has been putting too much pressure on itself for a long time.
“Whenever he has his demons under control at smaller tournaments, his blows run, especially the sometimes somewhat shaky forehand, like clockwork”according to the former number 24 in the world, which was once with the German Davis Cup team around Boris Becker in the final (1995). This icing on the cake Grand Slam-Unting has so far been missing from Zverev.
Boris Becker (left) and Andreas Maurer in 1998.
Caught in the sandwich
Zverev’s big problem also: he is the child of a (transition) time in which he initially had to fight for titles with the big three – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novk Djokovic – at the biggest tournaments.
After this extraordinary era in profit tennis (only the 37 -year -old Djokovic is still there), a generation of young wild ones, who is currently in the process of running the now established players such as Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, Grigor Dimitrov and Co. “As in a sandwich, the generation around Zverev is trapped between the old world -class players and the new upstarts”, says Maurer.
Young tournament winner
Jannick Sinner (23 years) and Carlos Alcaraz (21) are probably the best -known new names because they already won some big titles and have been able to pass Zverev and Co. But some other high -talented players follow.
The youngest 1000 tournament winners in Indian Wells and MiamiJack Draper (23, Great Britain) and Jakub Mensik (19, Czech Republic) have impressively demonstrated their great skills.
Holger Rune (21, Denmark) is back on the rising branch after a longer shape low. Arthur Fils (20, France) already has Zverev twice – most recently in Miami – Can defeat, Ben Shelton (22, USA) is the great American hope, Lorenzo Musetti (23, Italy) is only one of some promising Italian talents, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (21, France) is the new surcharge wonder after the end of the career of John Isner (USA).
Adolescent Lightness as an advantage
“These young players are of course talented. But they also play with this carefreeness that often makes young people and who give them a special lightness”says Maurer. Zverev could no longer dispose of this due to age. But still the German has to make it more often to play closer to the baseline and to act more aggressively. “And he has to get more consistency in his strokes at the highest level”says Maurer.
“Above all, however, he needs this very special clarity in the crucial situation that Jannik Sinner constitutes and who also had the big three all” “according to Maurer. So: keep the necessary calm with the decisive balls and have the courage to pull through the respective plan to the end.
Sporty crisis at Zverev
Most recently, Zverev had been in a sporting crisis to make matters worse. After reaching the final in Melbourne it set an early tournament defeat after the other on its South America and America tour.
“I’ve lost a lot of games lately that I felt that I couldn’t control them”said Zverev after the end against Fils in Miami. “I have to look at myself, more than anything else.”
Like Leverkusen’s footballer?
Now it continues on the tour in Europe, with Zverev’s favorite covering, the red ash. In his adopted home he plays with the traditional Monte Carlo Masters with until then French Open goes to Paris.
“He will have a good chance of Alexander Zverev because the soil there is as hard and quick as a hard court on warm days and it has a fantastic serve”says Maurer. “And maybe this time the famous knot bursts, like Bayer 04 Leverkusen, who could never win the championship and then it succeeded in the past year. Zverev always has the playful opportunities for a very big triumph.“