Towards the end of the second set, Carlos Alcaraz had once again twirled two slice backhands near the baseline, then sent the forehand cross on the journey at 53 revolutions per second and ended the rally with a sensitive stop – at this moment, from whom there were so many this Wednesday evening in the largest tennis arena in the world, Alexander Zverev looked at the opponent. His gaze was that of a person who realizes that there is absolutely nothing to gain in this quarter-final for him. In the end it was 3: 6, 2: 6, 4: 6, an accurate reflection of this duel, which must have seemed like a Sisyphus climbing wall to Zverev.
Anyone who has ever competed knows the feeling: you dive into this activity, get better, and celebrate your first successes. Jump over hurdles you thought you’d never be able to clear – and then smash into a wall at full speed. Get run over by a bus. Gets a real smack on the roof from someone who is just way, way, way better than you. For actors in Hollywood, there’s a hint: “You may be the prettiest, most talented, most ambitious person in your hometown – in Los Angeles you are: average.”
Applied to New York, it has been known since Frank Sinatra at the latest that someone who makes it here can be successful anywhere. That’s Zverev’s claim: make it at the US Open, in Melbourne, Paris, Wimbledon. Triumph in best-of-five matches against the best like Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. However, in his career he has never won a Grand Slam tournament against someone who was among the top five in the world rankings at the time of the duel – and that stayed the same in New York and leads to the question: Can he make it – knock, knock – anywhere?
“I think my tennis is there – otherwise I wouldn’t have won against Jannik Sinner,” said Zverev, who had jumped a few hurdles this year, which he called “comeback after his bad injury to his right ankle (French Open 2022). Season” interpreted. “If I make it to the top eight tournament at the end of the season, I’d say it’s been a good year.” He cleared a lot of hurdles, in New York for example the one named Sinner, who had really had a great summer before the US Open. But he also ran into huge walls like Casper Ruud at the French Open (3:6, 4:6, 0:6).
“I felt a pinch in my left thigh against Ruud – and now in the second set again, in the same place. I could run, but I couldn’t push myself off the serve,” said Zverev afterwards: “That’s what I’m about I have to take care of myself; my body is letting me down a bit right now. I have to see what I can do to keep the physique working. I’m known as someone who has ended up being physically fit in long, intense matches. But when you look at yourself If you can’t pull the trigger to serve and you don’t have the biggest weapon, it becomes almost impossible.”
Alcaraz is not just a wall, but also a craftsman who puts up a few obstacles during a game or adds a few centimeters of mortar and makes it difficult for the opponent to climb. With surprising, soulful stops, he takes the opponent’s legs. Patience with the long, precise backhand slice. With the passing shots, the courage to move forward yourself. With spontaneous serve-and-volley variants, even after slice or kick openings, security on the return. And with the forehand attacks, often on the line, he takes away the opponent’s desire to continue playing. It thus becomes a north face of the Eiger plus Nanga Parbat at the top of Mount Everest. How are you supposed to get up there?
Because: What does such an incredible passing shot like Zverev’s in the second set bring you when it’s 30:15 with a 1: 3 deficit afterwards – apart from the realization that you were in such trouble again that it was one again Need magic to win a point? This looks good on the highlight videos, but has nothing to do with the outcome of the game.
How is Zverev supposed to eventually beat the big ones?
At some point Zverev stood in front of this wall and asked: And how am I supposed to get up there? He seemed to be looking for help, but it’s striking how stoic those in the box were following the game. Zverev was asked about the battle against Sinner – and gave an evasive answer: “My father is not calm at all, he hums songs all the time, Whitney Houston and stuff like that.”
There is absolutely nothing to be said against it. It’s just noticeable at times when coaching is allowed and other players get tactical (Ben Shelton’s father advised his son against Frances Tiafoe to go to the net more often) or emotional support (Alcaraz gets almost every rally with a short ball). Look at Juan Carlos Ferrero) when someone tries to solve everything on their own.
You can clearly see: he tinkers, analyses, looks for solutions instead of excuses
That leads back to the question: What does Zverev have to do now to reach this higher level that Djokovic and Alcaraz are moving at? He says: “For 2024 I have higher goals again: win Grand Slams and become number one.” This question always reminds you of Roger Federer, who trained in more aggressive backhand slices in the autumn of his career because he saw that he would not be able to survive with the one-handed topspin against Rafael Nadal’s high balls. It would be unfair to do a more in-depth analysis after this defeat, in which Zverev was struck after a set and a half.
Zverev does that himself. He doesn’t dismiss the injury as bad luck, but because of the repetition as something he would like to prevent. You can clearly see: he tinkers, analyses, looks for solutions instead of excuses. Because he never wants to look at Alcaraz online again, knowing that there is nothing, absolutely nothing, to be found there.
