Alexander Zverev has been harshly criticized during this season, in which he has not achieved results that comply with the initial premises. The truth is that the German ace had deluded everyone in the last part of last year, making significant improvements in all areas of the game and winning the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000, before reaching the final at the Australian Open in early 2025.
The champion from Hamburg knew he was starting as an underdog against defending champion Jannik Sinner at Melbourne Park, but he was convinced that he would put the former world number 1 in serious trouble and dreamed of finally winning his first Major title.
As everyone knows, Sascha was literally demolished by the Italian star in that match on the iconic Rod Laver Arena and all his certainties crumbled in a very short time. The world number 3's performances in the rest of the season have been disappointing in most cases and the title won on the red clay in Munich cannot be enough to save a failed 2025.
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Zverev receives a lot of criticism
The former world No.2 also disappointed expectations at the recent Nitto ATP Finals in Turin last week, having not even made it past the round robin due to losses to Sinner and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
During the latest episode of his famous podcast, former American champion and current analyst Andy Roddick said that criticism of Sascha is often exaggerated: "I understand that people have different reasons not to be fans of Zverev, who has been the protagonist of controversial episodes off the tennis court, but we cannot deny that he is a great player.
The German champion has won 24 titles during his career, has participated in the Finals practically every year and has had no serious injuries except for the one to his ankle. Not many players have qualified for the Masters eight times. Carlos and Jannik definitely have something more than him right now, but it seems ridiculous to me to treat Alexander like garbage."
