If asked to name one of the best players who is yet to win a Grand Slam title, it’s almost certain that the fan favorite would be Alexander Zverev. The 28-year-old German star has made it to the finals of major tournaments three times in his career, but he has yet to win one! Earlier this year, he went down to Jannik Sinner at the AO final, and after failing at just one step short of the title triumph, he admitted, “I’m just not good enough.” Later on, he also spoke about how that loss had mentally affected him. Even at the French Open, he had to bow down to Novak Djokovic’s brilliance in the QF, but the most shocking result came at Wimbledon.

Alexander Zverev went down to the Frenchman, Arthur Rinderknech, in five sets in the first round of the Wimbledon Championships. It was his earliest defeat at a Grand Slam tournament since 2019. After that match, Zverev opened up about his mental health struggles, saying, “I’ve never felt this empty before. Just lacking joy, just lacking joy in everything that I do.” Later on, when asked if he might consider working with a mental coach, Zverev said, “Maybe for the first time in my life I’ll probably need it.” He spoke about loneliness and also revealed that it’s hard for him to find joy outside the tennis court at the moment.

German legend Boris Becker revealed he teared up over Zverev’s mental health revelations and instantly contacted him to check on him. But why were these statements from Alexander Zverev surprising? Renowned mental coach Thomas Baschab, recently sat for an interview with tennis MAGAZIN, and during which he said, “Not at all. What surprises me, however, is how the public generally deals with this topic. We’ve often read that Alexander Zverev is mentally weak because he lost three Grand Slam finals. But that’s complete nonsense. If a player like Zverev had mental weaknesses, he wouldn’t have become world number two. Zverev plays the ‘big points,‘ the important points of a match, excellently. His tiebreak record is fantastic. Zverev has a completely different problem.“

According to Thomas Baschab, in certain situations, Zverev has a disruption in the energy flow in his body, and this is what seemingly prevents him from performing at his best. He thinks Alexander Zverev easily gets distracted by his own mistakes, and these things drain his energy and focus, thereby lower his quality. According to him, Zverev can perform at the level of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, and the only thing he lacks is a forehand with which he can score at will.

While imparting advice to Zverev, Baschab said that he should first take a break, pick himself up, and recharge the batteries that he needs to actively address the issue. “He needs to be empowered to strengthen his own energy system so that it can no longer be disrupted during a match,” said the mental coach.

But at the moment, Alexander Zverev is busy preparing himself under the strict supervision of Rafael Nadal’s uncle Toni Nadal in Mallorca and he looks hungry for redemption on the North American hard court swing!

Toni Nadal singles out one Alexander Zverev quality hindering his success

Numerous videos of Alexander Zverev training at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca flooded the internet a few days ago. Toni Nadal was even spotted giving him a few tips and tricks to improve his game. Following that, there was massive speculation about whether we’d see him taking up the coaching role in Zverev’s team. However, as per the latest reports, Nadal will not become Zverev’s coach because he still wants to continue his work at the academy and his role as a director of the ATP tournament in Mallorca.

However, Toni Nadal did point out the one thing that is keeping Grand Slam titles elusive to Alexander Zverev. According to Nadal, “Zverev it’s a mental problem.” After that, he gave a few examples of his matches and added, “If he wants to win and have chances to win a Grand Slam, he needs to change a little his mentality. He can win, but to win is a thing about mentality.” 

Amidst all this, Alexander Zverev’s chances of winning the title at the Canadian Open are looking up since many of tennis’ superstars, including Jannik Sinner, Novak Djoković, Carlos Alcaraz, and Jack Draper, have already withdrawn from the tournament. As a result of this, Zverev will be the top seed in this event. Can he find his way to triumph?