Has Zverev "Fixed" His Second Serve?

[arturohernandez]

I agree that Alex does not have the build to be running down shots all day, even though he is about the same size as Medvedev, who does exactly that very comfortably. Alex just has way more pop on all shots in his game than Medvedev though. We have all said before, somewhat like Novak, with more power and less defensive skills. The beatdown he put on Rublev in Cincy was about as impressive as it gets. Rublev really competes well and he had no chance. There were no small margains in play there separating the winner from the lower. Zverev just does not look good volleying. To me, he will never have good hands out there.

So is he the next most one dimensional major winner?

[stroke]

I agree that Alex does not have the build to be running down shots all day, even though he is about the same size as Medvedev, who does exactly that very comfortably. Alex just has way more pop on all shots in his game than Medvedev though. We have all said before, somewhat like Novak, with more power and less defensive skills. The beatdown he put on Rublev in Cincy was about as impressive as it gets. Rublev really competes well and he had no chance. There were no small margains in play there separating the winner from the lower. Zverev just does not look good volleying. To me, he will never have good hands out there.

[don_budge]

He is definitely trending in the right direction all areas of his game.

Statistics are one thing and the battle on the ground is quite another. But, for sure, the stats for Zverev should be improving with time. Otherwise what would be the point? The difference in Alexander Zverev of late is not going to show up in the stats and that is his mental and competitive attributes. He is gaining in experience and losing that "deer in the headlights" look. He came on quite quickly and it took some time for him to feel comfortable with his status. He took his lumps but hung in there and worked his way up the food chain again.

It has helped that attrition has taken its toll on the field. The field is considerably weaker than it was a few years ago. Many of the better players are no longer playing or are in decline. Surely every aspect of his game has improved. Surely his second serve has improved. But it is the cumulative effect of his game that has enabled him. His forehand is not longer the reputed weakness of his game. But I wonder what his impact will be in the long run. He is a bit tall to be running around the baseline grinding it out as a baseliner. So many of these big guys end up with injuries trying to play a game that doesn't suit them ergonomically speaking.

Speaking of the serve...if he really wanted to improve it he would be serving and volleying. But of course that is not an option these days. Afterall, the concept of the game is no longer what it once was. The biggest mitigating factor in Alexander Zverev has been experience. He has learned from his failures and his successes. He is maturing. But the jury is still out. It's a long run. It's a marathon...not a sprint. As he is finding out.

[stroke]

Thanks. Agreed. One thing that gets overlooked is how good a returner Zverev is. In the Cinci finals, Zverev only allowed Rublev (who has his own 2nd serve issues) to win 13% of his second serve points (2 out of 16)

The ATP's odd combo stats rank Zverev 7th overall in returning.

He is definitely trending in the right direction all areas of his game.

[jimlosaltos]

Jim, Great stats, I love it, nothing like facts. Those are amazing stats. That along with his top tier groundstrokes off both sides and his top tier 1st serve certainly explain his recent winning record. He is on the cusp no doubt of putting up some great numbers, but not the 3 numbers. His recent success is not lost on the oddsmakers. They have him as a strong #3 favorite to win the UD Open after Novak and Medvedev. He would be the smart money bet to me.

Thanks. Agreed. One thing that gets overlooked is how good a returner Zverev is. In the Cinci finals, Zverev only allowed Rublev (who has his own 2nd serve issues) to win 13% of his second serve points (2 out of 16)

The ATP's odd combo stats rank Zverev 7th overall in returning.

[stroke]

Jim, Great stats, I love it, nothing like facts. Those are amazing stats. That along with his top tier groundstrokes off both sides and his top tier 1st serve certainly explain his recent winning record. He is on the cusp no doubt of putting up some great numbers, but not the 3 numbers. His recent success is not lost on the oddsmakers. They have him as a strong #3 favorite to win the UD Open after Novak and Medvedev. He would be the smart money bet to me.

[stotty]

I only saw a couple of his matches but in the matches I saw his first serve was doing all the work, hitting second serves at 40 love and 40-15 up then became routine. His serve did blink when trying to serve out the match against Rublev; his first serve stuttered and he threw in a double fault or two as I remember. He managed to serve out the second time round as he was a double break up.

But those yips certainly came back when serving out against Rublev. I remember thinking that at the time.

His first serve is terrific, a bomb. The rest of his game has moved up a notch also (maybe not the volleys). He's just a second serve away from being a grand slam champion in my view.

[jimlosaltos]

Here's Zverev's second serve performance for 9 of his 11 match winning streak. (first 2 at Olympics didn't have Hawkeye and thus no stats).

Player/ second serve win % / double faults in match

Rub 45 / 4
Tsit 33/4
Ruud 55 / 1
Pella 69 /3
Harris 75 / 1
Khac 43/1
Djoko 47/1
Chard 89 / 1
Basil 80 / 0

[jimlosaltos]

Sasha Zverev is on an 11-game winning streak, which includes an Olympic Gold medal, a Masters 1000 title, and victories over the world number one Djokovic, world number 4 Tsitsipas (who had beaten Zverev 6 of the last 7 meetings, 4 in straight sets).

He's been serving lights out. Question: 1) Has Zverev "Fixed" his second serve and if so how? 2) Is it just a matter of yips or do we still believe his technique leaves him vulnerable 3) Will he merely "regress to the mean"? I'm asking; I don't know.

Here's what his numbers were in his come from behind win over Djokovic.

filedata/fetch?id=95106&d=1630005128&type=thumb