A shorter 2020 saw Germany’s Alexander Zverev win two ATP titles, and make the finals of Masters 1000 and Grand Slam tournaments. As the gap between the Big Three and other members of the top ten in the ATP rankings gets smaller, Zverev will fancy his chances to breakthrough further in 2021, but keeping in mind that there are other equal if not better contenders, and he definitely needs to keep the focus and strive for consistency heading into the new season.
An Impressive Start For Zverev
Although only 23 years of age, Alexander (‘Sascha’) Zverev has quite the impressive resume’ already.
Younger brother of lesser known serve and volley specialist Mischa Zverev, Sascha hails from a family ingrained in the sport and his formative years till this day have seen his parents actively involved in the progression of his tennis career. (you can check Zverev’s racquet specs here).
Hailed as the leader of the pack likely to take over from the Big Three, Zverev had a breakthrough year in 2017, winning two Masters 1000 titles (Rome defeating Djokovic for the title, and Canada defeating Federer for the title).
He also reached a career high ranking of number three in the word, somewhat aided by the injury layoffs of Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka around the same time.
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2018 saw Zverev add to his Masters 1000 count at Rome and he capped off an up and down year with what remains till today the biggest win of his career, i.e. the ATP Tour Finals in London, where he defeated Federer and Djokovic in the semis and finals for the title respectively.
2019 was an inconsistent year for Zverev to start with, but he turned it around during the last third being a finalist at the Shanghai Masters, and a semi-finalist at the Tour Finals in London.
The young German carried his form into 2020, being a semi-finalist at the Australian Open and runner-off in a nail-biter finish at the US Open final, losing to Dominic Thiem on both occasions.
Zverev Career Not Short of Drama
The Sascha Zverev career thus far has caught attention not only for his on-court achievements, but also for a host of other things off the court.
This has ranged from his sponsor Adidas giving him the retro Bjorn Borg look at the 2017 US Open that led to many comparisons and parallels with the great Swede, to his coaching relationship with his father and then the hiring and abrupt split with his yesteryear legend Ivan Lendl as coach.
While on the one side the induction into the iconic Roger Federer’s Team 8 brought upside with it, 2020 has seen Zverev involved in domestic violence allegations pertaining to his ex-girlfriend that surfaced in November 2020.
The off-season remains critical for the German as the sooner he is able to resolve distractions from the goal in hand and further sharpen his focus, the sooner he will see an increased focus on the court, translating to better results.
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What Does 2021 Hold for Zverev?
In recent times, Zverev has evidenced that just like Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev (check the Medvedev predictions for 2021), he has the belief and skill to beat the best in the game, including the Big Three. Where he has lacked is consistency and focus. While some of this is hindered by matters away from tennis, there is much on the tennis court that will benefit from a more focused Alexander Zverev in 2021.
As he transcends from being a threat to the best out there to hopefully being among the best, Zverev will need to work on his ability to front run when in the lead.
While he has his displayed more grit than most of his generation evidenced by the number of occasions he has come back from being down and out to winning in four or five sets, Zverev needs to start winning more clinical and routine matches at the big tournaments. Not only does it do wonders for his confidence, it also saves him energy for latter rounds and more challenging opponents.
The Zverev serve is another aspect of the game that will need more consistency in 2021. While it is among the most destructive serves when on song, (evidenced in the first two sets of the US Open final against Dominic Thiem, it is also what has let him down so many times with an array of double-faults and a non-existent second serve at times.
With his height and the power of his serve, Zverev will hope to mold it into a dependable asset for himself, than an unpredictable feature of his game.
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Given the varied levels of the Zverev game, temperament and results that we have seen, it is difficult to predict what 2021 will look like for the German.
With no obvious weakness in his game, the 23-year-old is a force to reckon with on any surface. He has performed well on the hard courts indoors and outdoors, as well as on the slower clay courts where he has won two Masters 1000s and been a French-Open quarterfinalist.
Although he is yet to meet with much success at Wimbledon, his performance at Halle over the years is testimony to the fact that he has the serve and net game to succeed on the surface.
In 2021, it is fair to expect Zverev to again be a force at the Australian and US Opens, the hard court Masters indoors and outdoors and to a lesser extent on clay.
Alongside Thiem and Medvedev, Zverev will be in the running to finally dethrone Novak Djokovic at Melbourne Park, whereas he will be hoping to do one better than 2020 at the US Open. The outdoor hard courts of North America will definitely suit the German and the US Open remains the slam where he has the highest probability to shatter the Grand Slam ceiling for himself.
With the likes of Federer and Djokovic on grass, and Nadal, Djokovic and Thiem on clay, the Wimbledon and French Opens in 2021 may still be somewhat of a long shot for Zverev.
Expect the German to add to his count of Masters 1000s and ATP 500s if the season is close to full calendar wise. While the time has come for the likes of Zverev to win the best titles in the sport, the crowd of contenders is still very talented (and will be in 2021) and Zverev may have to wait another year before a potential maiden Grand Slam win.
2021 Predictions for Zverev
Expect Zverev’s on-court focus to outweigh any off-court conflicts as 2021 will be his most consistent year yet with the German seeking to become a frequent final weekend participant at major tournaments.
However with the Big Three still in the fray, and the trajectory that the careers of the likes of Thiem and Medvedev are taking, it will still take a Herculean effort by the 23-year-old to win his first Grand Slam tournament in 2021.