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‘Tsitsipas Hasn’t Won a Slam’- 26YO German Tennis Star Turns Weirdly Creative as He Uses Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic to Defend Next-Gen’s Short-Comings

Published 08/31/2023, 7:22 PM EDT

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via Imago

Alexander Zverev, a young sensation in tennis, recently made the headlines with his sensational remarks about the ‘Slamless gang’ in the sport. Currently playing in the US Open, the German player managed to make his way to the third round of the tournament. However, apart from his stunning performance at the Flushing Meadows, his remarks on the players who played in the same era as the ‘Big Three’ are something that has been gaining enormous attention of late.

In a recent interview, Zverev went ahead to highlight the major factors that many players had to go through while highlighting the accolades established by the trio of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal. Zverev’s comments, though seemingly weird, were also insightful.

Alexander Zverev slams the ‘Slamless Gang’ by citing ‘Big Three’ example

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In a recent interview, Zverev shed light on the players who weren’t able to land a grand slam ever in their career. Addressing the absence of a coveted Grand Slam title for players like Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas, he addressed the broader issues of how even prominent players have struggled to consistently make it into the finals of any Slam in recent years.

In the interview, Alexander Zverev showed he understands how hard it is for players who haven’t won a Grand Slam yet. He wasn’t looking to compete with them. Instead, his words demonstrated that he understood their challenges. The World No. 12 pointed out how strong Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer have been over the past three decades, dominating the circuit. He said: “It also kind of comes down to Novak, Rafa, and Roger a little bit, you know. A lot of players like Berdych, Ferrer, Nalbandian. Who else? Soderling. Yeah, they all haven’t won a Slam. It’s not that easy to win these things. Especially when you have three guys that really dominated for 20 years.”

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Not only this, but he also included some major names like David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych who had a tremendous impact on the sport but could not reach any Grand Slam final. However, he further went ahead to mention that he was not targeting any player. Rather, he was attempting to highlight the insights from his experience. Interestingly, the conversation soon turned to his own generation of players as well!

Zverev weighs in on the Gen-Z’s thwarted Slam prospects

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Zverev thought it was surprising that someone like Dimitrov hadn’t even reached a final, considering how consistently good he has remained as a player. He continued: “I’m more surprised he’s never made a final. That’s surprising. Not that he maybe hasn’t won one. Absolutely no disrespect at all, but I think there are a lot of players that haven’t won one.”

He then turned the lens closer to home. “There are a lot of players that haven’t won a slam yet (smiling). Tsitsipas hasn’t won a slam. I haven’t won a slam,” said Zverev.

via Imago

The young player’s words show he’s not just thinking about the competition, but also about how tough the journey is for players like him and Dimitrov. His thoughts echo what many other players feel. They’re all working hard to achieve their dreams at a time when Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer have set an amazing standard.

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Written by:

Akshat Gaur

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Akshat Gaur is a Tennis Writer at EssentiallySports. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in 2021 and has been writing since then. With over two years of experience in the world of sports journalism, specifically tennis journalism, Akshat is someone who is immensely passionate about covering the ATP and the WTA Tour.
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Edited by:

Mitali Dey