Alexander Zverev declared his professional status in 2013; however, I saw him play for the first time in 2014. While I cannot put my finger on exactly what made me continue to watch that match, I realized instinctively that he had that “something special”. It was a combination of raw talent and steely determination and in someone that young, it was rare in this era of tennis. To be a great tennis player, you need to have talent, you need determination, you need to be mentally strong and finally you need to be physically fit. Gone are the days when young players dominate the upper echelon of tennis. Today with the evolution of tennis racquets and the variety of strings available, it takes a lot for a player to stand out and Sascha stood out.
At the end of 2013, he was ranked 809; a year later, Zverev had rocketed up the rankings to 136. Now the real test began for the young German, play consistent tennis to impact his ranking positively. 2015 was a rocky year for the youngster; however, he continued to make progress and ended the year at number 83.
Photo by Igor Russak/Nur Photo via Getty Images: Zverev celebrates his victory over Stan Wawrinka in the final of the St. Petersburg Open.
2016 was the year Zverev began to put the pieces together. He made four semifinals and three finals. He won his first career singles title in his third final (St. Petersburg Open), defeating two top ten players en route to the title. Suddenly people began to realize he was not just another tennis player and now he was being noticed. No longer could he play in obscurity, the pressure of expectation was now something he had to contend with. It takes a lot to be a great tennis player and in addition to the traits mentioned above, being a great tennis requires that you are able to embrace the “pressure of expectations”. It is a burden that many have found difficult to cope with and those who have learned to handle it with grace have found the key to maximizing their potential to achieve the ultimate goal.
Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images: Alexander Zverev, 2014 junior Australian Open champion.
How will Zverev embrace the pressure? He seems to be doing a fairly good job so far at this age and will probably get better as time progresses. However, he has to find that balance. He is still improving his fitness and once that is optimized I think he will have more endurance, which will allow him to start getting better results in the majors.
Photo by Silvia Lore/Nur Photo via Getty Images: Alexander Zverev with the Internazionali BNL d'Italia trophy.
Zverev made it to six finals this season and has won five titles to date, two of which were Masters 1000 (Coupe Rogers and Internazionali BNL d’Italia). His results have tailed off a bit at the end of the season; however, it’s understandable given the demands his young body has endured in this highly productive year. He led the race to Milan and has also qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals in London. Zverev is currently ranked number four.