By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Friday, November 15, 2024
Photo credit: Lintao Zhang/Getty
Rarely will we see Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz toss a racquet in rage.
Yet the reigning Grand Slam champions are tennis demolition experts, says Alexander Zverev.
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World No. 2 Zverev says Sinner and Alcaraz shatter a shared myth.
While both are exceptional movers widely praised for extending points, Zverev says Sinner and Alcaraz are at their best using explosiveness to exterminate points.
While both can be awesome defenders, neither has a defensive mind-set, Zverev said after defeating Alcaraz 7-6(5), 6-4 at the ATP Finals today.
“I think everybody talks about how great they are defensively. I don’t think they play defense a lot anymore,” Zverev said. “Tennis is not about defense anymore. It used to be a few years back when tennis was quite different, a little bit slower still.
“I think now those guys, 90% of the time they’re only playing offense. It’s about making sure that you can keep up offensively with them, being able to keep up with their speeds of groundstrokes as well. That’s the number one thing. Not backing off, going for your shots in the most important moments. That’s maybe where I struggled, as well, in my career, trusting my shots and going for them when I need to.”
Former OIympic gold-medal champion Zverev has been nearly unbreakable during his eight-match winning streak that has seen him win the Rolex Paris Masters crown and return to the Turin final four.
Ball and court conditions favor the returner more than the server in today’s tennis, Zverev suggests.
The French Open finalist points to return prowess of the top-seeded Sinner and third-seeded Alcaraz as the inspiration for him sharpening his forehand return. In 2023, Alcaraz and Sinner were in the Top 3 for return games won on the ATP Tour.
This season, Alcaraz is second to Alex de Minaur in return games won, while Sinner is seventh on that list.
The Zverev forehand return and forehand down the line were key elements to his sixth win in 11 meetings vs. Alcaraz today.
“The best players in the world now are the best returners,” Zverev said. “Jannik is one of the best returners. Novak has been one of the best returners for decades now.
“Carlos is one of the best returners. So it’s not necessarily the best serve anymore, it’s the best returners.
“For me, that was one of the most important parts of my…
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