Passive style of play Zverev reacts to Federer's criticism: "Nothing I don't know"
Tennis legend Roger Federer would like Alexander Zverev to play much more aggressively. Now the German has responded.
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- Roger Federer believes that Alexander Zverev can still achieve the long-awaited triumph at a Grand Slam tournament, but the German would have to change his game to do so.
- Zverev plays "far too passively, far too defensively in the decisive moments", criticized the Swiss on the sidelines of the Laver Cup. The title won't come by itself. "Especially not the first one," said Federer.
- Zverev has now responded to Federer's criticism.
Alexander Zverev has reacted calmly to the criticism from tennis legend Roger Federer. The Swiss had described the German world number two's style of play as "far too passive".
"That's nothing I don't know. It's absolutely clear to me that I didn't play the way I want to play. That was a terrible game from me. That's why it's completely okay what Roger said," said Zverev, referring to his quarter-final exit at the US Open a few weeks ago.
Zverev is still waiting for his first Grand Slam title. He failed to reach the final at the US Open (2020) and the French Open (2024). At the beginning of September, the Hamburg native missed another big opportunity in New York, losing to American Taylor Fritz in the round of the best eight.
Results at the US Open "not normal"
Zverev explained the result at the last Grand Slam tournament of the year with an exhausting schedule in this Olympic year. "It was perhaps too much at some point. Not just for me. The US Open was not a tournament with results that were normal. With Carlos (Alcaraz), with Novak (Djokovic), with me somewhere too. There were a lot of defeats that weren't normal," said Zverev. Wimbledon winner Alcaraz had lost in the second round, Djokovic in the third.
In Federer's opinion, Zverev has to play much more aggressively to win a Grand Slam title. "He's great on defense, but I think to win he has to look for the way forward," said Federer.
Zverev will play at the Laver Cup in Berlin, which Federer co-initiated, on Friday. In the doubles alongside the Spanish Wimbledon winner Alcaraz, the German wants to win a point for Team Europe.
dpa
