Roddick: "Zverev was the energy vampire of Arthur Ashe"

Alexander Zverev is having a dream season. The German tennis player has gone from being ranked number 3 in the world and having no Grand Slam titles at the beginning of the year to challenging Jannik Sinner for the number 1 spot and becoming the champion at Roland Garros and the US Open. One of the keys to 'Sascha's' victory in New York yesterday was his emotional control, something that Andy Roddick has emphasized.

Indeed, Roddick is the last American champion of the US Open (2003), and he was present in the stands in case Shelton was ready to take over. However, Zverev prevented that with a perfect strategy and a champion's mindset. The former world number 1 considers that this was one of the main keys to his triumph, as in previous occasions it had been those nerves that led him to lose important finals and to be seen as a player lacking courage in crucial moments of matches.

“One thing that I found incredibly smart was that he didn’t gesture to his box or complain to his box. In the first week, he was irritable and not playing well, and he was very irritable. Last night there was no positive emotion; he won a point and got discouraged. He was the energy vampire of the Arthur Ashe Stadium. He had the perfect temperament for that place; it was as if all he wanted was to deflate your enthusiasm,” Roddick acknowledged on his podcast 'Served.'

The key to Zverev's change in mentality

According to Roddick, the moment everything changed was the final of Roland Garros against Flavio Cobolli where he managed to win in five sets. That day Zverev was indeed more nervous than usual, as he was the clear favorite and had the chance to achieve his first and coveted Grand Slam, but from that victory on, he played much more freely and with much more confidence. In the Wimbledon final, he made things difficult for Sinner, and in the US Open final, he barely gave opportunities to a Shelton who was playing brilliantly.

“I know everyone will now say it’s the new Zverev and that he’s playing better than ever. He was a great player before Roland Garros, who had mental issues finishing matches and winning a Grand Slam. That’s all. It hasn’t changed everything. He talked about having more freedom at Wimbledon and having more freedom here. Can you imagine coming to this tournament if he had never won one, if he had lost a Wimbledon final and a Roland Garros final?” he claimed.

In conclusion, Roddick made it clear that he hasn’t seen a major change in Zverev’s game, but rather that his key to success has been maintaining consistency. “What has changed? He managed to cross the finish line at Roland Garros. And he almost lost that match! He was so tense in the fourth set that he almost let it slip, but he got through it. The reason he succeeded is not that he played exceptionally in that final or that he was a different person. It’s because he has put himself in that situation enough times.”

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Roddick: "Zverev fue el vampiro energético de la Arthur Ashe"