By Martyn Herman
LONDON, July 12 (Reuters) – Wimbledon runner-up Alexander Zverev will rise to second in the ATP world rankings on Monday and while Centre Court conqueror Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are the dominant forces in men’s tennis, the German believes his new attacking strategy can help him close the gap.
The 29-year-old went toe-to-toe with world number one Sinner on Sunday, snapping a run of 14 lost sets to the Italian to lead the final before losing 6-7(7) 7-6(2) 6-3 6-4.
It was his 10th loss in a row to Sinner but unlike most of the other nine, this one was a real fight. Had it not been for a fall at 3-3 in the third set on his only break point of the match, Zverev may well have become the first German man to win the singles title at the All England Club since Michael Stich in 1991.
Zverev’s French Open triumph last month was his first Grand Slam title at the 41st attempt, although some will point to the fact that Sinner lost in the second round and Spanish seven-time major winner Alcaraz was absent with an ongoing wrist injury.
MORE ATTACKING APPROACH
The new-found belief that the win over Flavio Cobolli at Roland Garros injected into Zverev was evident at Wimbledon where a far more attacking approach, especially with his forehand, fired him to his best-ever run at the grasscourt Slam.
“I’ve said it at the beginning of the year, and I’ve stuck to it. That’s the tennis I want to play. That’s the game style I want to play,” Zverev told reporters.
“There were matches in the beginning of the year where I was struggling a bit more with this style, but I was consistently doing it. The more I do it, the better I’ll become.
“I won a Grand Slam for the first time in my career in Paris. I made it to the finals here for the first time in my career. Of course, something has to be working.”
Zverev’s first serve percentage hovered around 80% for much of the final against Sinner while his forehand, once regarded as too passive, was used to destructive effect to rock the Italian.
“When I have the opportunity, I hit it. Whether I make it or miss it, that depends on the day. But I definitely go for it,” he said. “That’s my goal, that’s my aim for this year, that’s my aim for hopefully the rest of my career.”
CHALLENGING ALCARAZ AND SINNER
While Sinner and Alcaraz have 12 Grand Slam titles between them, Zverev believes he can challenge them for the game’s big prizes.
“I think I’ve been pushing those guys. I haven’t beaten them this year, but I’ve pushed them to the limits, I would say,” Zverev said. “Alcaraz in Australia, Jannik maybe here. Even though it was four sets, I think it was a very close four sets, which could have gone five as well.
“There was always this conversation who will be the third guy, the search for the third guy. Kind of the last couple years, I’ve always been the third guy, but I was just far away from those two. If I get closer to them, if I can be in the mix, competing and winning the big tournaments, it would be great.”
Zverev said his fall in the third set on Sunday had impacted his serving.
“I over-extended my knee again, similar to two years ago. I was struggling to push off on the serve a little bit. So my serve speed went down,” he said. “But everything else went fine.
“I think the fall didn’t help me in the third set. My level dropped a little bit. But then I picked it up in the fourth again. Overall I thought it was quite high level throughout.”
(Reporting by Martyn Herman)
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