Former World No. 2 Michael Stich believes compatriot Alexander Zverev has not taken the "next step" in his development as a player in the past three to four years.
Germany's Zverev has been ranked as high as No. 2 and came within one service hold from winning the 2020 US Open. Nevertheless, he has accounted for 21 career titles on tour and has contested some of the biggest tennis matches in the past few seasons, including the Tokyo Olympics final, for which he won a gold medal.
From a very young age, Zverev displayed flashes of brilliance and potential and was touted as a future Grand Slam champion. That accolade has deserted the big-serving German, who will turn 27 in five months' time.
As the clock begins to tick on his career, tennis fans are questioning whether Zverev will actually win one of tennis' coveted trophies. The emergence of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner coupled with the seemingly unending dominance of Novak Djokovic shattered his dreams for another year in 2023.
While speaking on a Sky Sports Germany podcast Stich stated that judgment reserved for the 26-year-old is "well-intentioned" because observers want to see him become an elite player.
"In most cases the judgments of many observers are well-intentioned; they actually wish that he would take this next step so that he could become an even better tennis player. "
"I think he always sees this as criticism of himself and his game – which it really isn’t. In the last three or four years – from my perspective – he hasn’t managed to really develop his game further. Whether he can and wants to do that, only he knows."
The former Wimbledon champion then had some nice things to say about Zverev's resurgent year. Having spent the second half of last season nursing an ankle injury, not much was expected from him in 2023. But he still managed to finish inside the Top 8 places and qualified for the ATP Finals.
"It was a strong comeback year. That was not to be expected, that has to be said very clearly. He was there at the finals. If in the summer someone had said: ‘Come on, boy, you’re in the Top 8 in Turin,’ he would have looked at them a bit strange at first. But he did it."
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