Rennae Stubbs Says Alexander Zverev Will ‘Never Win Grand Slam’ As She Criticizes Him for Complaining About Balls
Alexander Zverev is participating in the ATP 500 Hamburg European Open after failing to defend his title at the Italian Open.
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Alexander Zverev, Rennae Stubbs (Image via X/The New York Post, Tennis Channel)
Rennae Stubbs criticized Alexander Zverev for complaining about constant ball changes in tournaments. Zverev is in Hamburg participating in the ATP 500 tournament, before which, he played the Italian Open.
His title defense in Rome was ended by Lorenzo Musetti in the semifinals. After his exit, Zverev criticized the balls, calling them “a joke“, claiming that the balls were bigger and it made it difficult for him to hit winners. Stubbs cited the examples of the Big 3 (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic) and urged him to focus more on playing instead of complaining. She said during The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast:
That is why you are never going to be a great player. I mean, you are a great player, but you are never going to win a Grand Slam if you’re going to complain about the balls. When was the last time Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic complained about the balls? Like what?
Zverev, so far this season, has won just the BMW Open. He started the season at the Australian Open where World No.1 Jannik Sinner denied him his first Major by defending his title.
Zverev then lost the six tournaments without winning more than two matches. After ending this streak at the BMW Open, Zverev was defeated in the Madrid Open fourth round by Francisco Cerundolo and by Musetti in Rome.
John Isner surprised to see Alexander Zverev playing at the Hamburg Open
The Hamburg Open was not in Alexander Zverev‘s schedule but he took a wild card just a few days before the start of the tournament. John Isner thinks the reason why Zverev signed up for the tournament is because he needs match practice.
But I am a little surprised to see him playing this week. He does like to hit and play a lot. When I was training in Tampa Florida, Sascha was 13, 14, 15 years old practising with us and you knew he was going to be an incredible player. But he was on the court for five or six hours a day. He is a court rat.John Isner said on the Nothing Major podcast
In his opening round match, Sascha knocked out Aleksandar Kovacevic in straight sets. He won the home tournament in 2023 by beating Serbia’s Laslo Djere.
Alexander Zverev loses the No.2 ranking to Carlos Alcaraz
As Alexander Zverev failed to defend the Italian Open, he dropped to the third position in the rankings table. He was toppled by Carlos Alcaraz who emerged victorious with a straight-set victory over home favorite Jannik Sinner.
If he wins the Hamburg Open, Zverev still won’t be able to remove Alcaraz from the second spot. The four-time Grand Slam champion has 8,850 points in the live rankings, while the three-time Grand Slam finalist has 7,285 points.
Sinner, despite staying on the sidelines for three months, will continue to sit on top with 10,380 points. During his doping ban, neither Zverev nor Alcaraz came close to the No.1 position because of their mediocre performances in a few tournaments before the clay swing.
Next week, these three players will shift their focus onto the French Open which starts on May 25th. Sinner and Alcaraz will schedule their 12th tour-level encounter if both of them reach the final as they will be first and second seed, respectively.
Last year, Alcaraz lifted his first French Open title after a five-set thriller against Zverev. Before reaching the final, the 22-year-old had to go past Sinner in five sets. It was the three-time Grand Slam champion’s best performance in the clay-court Major.
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