Zverev and his controversy with the serve: "It's unnecessary on my part"

Alexander Zverev has defeated Alex De Miñaur in the quarter-finals of the ATP Shanghai to edge closer to another major title and the world number 1 ranking, which he will surely take from Jannik Sinner in Vienna in a few days. However, since the US Open, he has been caught up in a controversy regarding his service due to bouncing the ball too much before serving, something he claims he is trying to change.

Zverev revealed that he realized this situation once he won the US Open and looked at his phone. He acknowledged his mistake and has been trying to change it since then, although today the chair umpire told him at the end of the match that he was always on the limit with the clock. According to him, in the match against De Miñaur, the Australian player also bore some responsibility, although he is aware of the situation and will try to keep improving to avoid distracting or bothering his opponents because of this factor.

Zverev talks about the quality of his serve against De Miñaur

Especially from the back of the court, it was a pretty good match. On a surface like this, he is a very difficult opponent to face due to his great speed and the way he hits the ball very flat, which makes it travel very quickly across the court. I feel that today my level was much higher than in recent matches. I am definitely satisfied with this improvement in my performance.

Controversy with his serve and conversation with the chair umpire

He told me to pay attention to the serve clock when I was serving. The truth is I don’t know why, but this year I am bouncing the ball a lot (laughs). It started at the US Open. I don’t know why it began. I am very aware of it and I am trying to correct it. It's something a bit unnecessary on my part. Today, especially with my serve, I felt I was ready very quickly between points, but I had to wait for him to get the towel. And that happened often. When he came back, I started bouncing the ball and going through my routine, which takes me some time; in the end, I am left with almost no margin on the serve clock. But I believe that if I had started earlier, I could have managed the time better.

Why does he bounce the ball so many times?

I simply do it when I feel it's the right moment. But, if you noticed, I do it less than when I was in New York. I think that, in New York, I was reaching an extreme. I wasn’t aware of it because I had my phone off and wasn’t looking at social media or anything like that. I only realized afterward, and I am definitely trying to work on it.

There are certain things that, in my opinion, have to do with fairness in the game and not distracting the opponent; if I do something that my rivals perceive as a distraction, I prefer not to do it. I want to win thanks to tennis; that’s what I am dedicated to.

Zverev talks about the discomfort in his ankle

Today I played so well without relying too much on my physical aspect, so I didn’t need to push myself physically. The longer the match goes, the worse my ankle gets. I feel that today I was able to play quickly enough that I didn’t have to go through long exchanges or many physically exhausting points. The most I feel the ankle is when serving, but that is due to the physical effort from previous exchanges. So, if I avoid that wear and tear, I also feel better when serving.

Expectations for his match against Davidovich

He is playing very well; especially here in Asia, he is playing at an incredible level. He won a tournament and is now in the semifinals. I expect a high-level match from him—and hopefully from me as well—and I am looking forward to the tough challenge ahead.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Zverev y su polémica con el saque: "Es innecesario por mi parte"