Zverev slammed: “I’m having a hard time watching him; I hope Sinner comes back soon”

Harsh criticism for Zverev from Tallon Griekspoor, who is certainly no fan of the recent U.S. Open champion: “I expected him to beat Shelton—their head-to-head record already showed that everything was in Zverev’s favor. The match struck me as rather mediocre. Shelton played very inconsistently and gave away two or three points in every game. That’s when you realize what playing in the first Grand Slam final of his career can do to a tennis player. Zverev wasn’t exceptional, but he served very well: the second-set tiebreak was crucial.”

And again: “I watched the U.S. Open final in bits and pieces—there were other sports on TV. I just find it really hard to watch a Zverev match—even more so, of course, in this tournament, where he bounced the ball 400 times before every serve. It was extreme, but it’s clear it worked for him. Maybe I should do the same…”.

Tallon was even more blunt when, during his interview with De Telegraaf, he was asked if Zverev could become world No. 1: “Without a doubt, no. It’s not something I can even imagine. I hope that both Alcaraz and Sinner return to their best form soon, but if one of them were to be eliminated early from a tournament, Zverev is always there, ready to take advantage of it. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he ended his career having won four or five Grand Slam titles.”