Alexander Zverev turned a basic serve into a patience test for Karen Khachanov. Every time the Russian settled into position to return, Zverev kept bouncing the ball, forcing him to reset again and again before the toss finally came. It is a routine opponents have had to tolerate throughout the US Open, but after his straight-set semifinal loss to the World No. 2, Khachanov finally called out what increasingly looks less like a harmless habit and more like a tactic capable of messing with an opponent’s rhythm.

“His ball-bouncing before the serve bothers a lot of players. He takes a long time. You prepare yourself, then he bounces the ball another 12 times, so you have to prepare and split-step again almost every point,” said Khachanov. “If he’s within the time limit, there’s nothing I can say. If he’s going over the time limit, then he should get a warning. But it’s the chair umpire’s responsibility to monitor that, not mine.”

Zverev was hit with a time violation in the second-set tiebreak while serving at set point. After missing the first serve, the top seed kept bouncing the ball before his second, forcing the umpire to call a violation. Zverev lost the point but eventually won the tiebreak.

Even though servers get twenty-five seconds to land their first serve, there is no separate clock between first and second serves. Regulations require the server to hit the second serve without unreasonable delay, with the chair umpire deciding whether a player has taken too long.

Zverev has a habit of running the clock down to the last possible moment, often starting his toss as it hits zero. The repeated bouncing can be interpreted as gamesmanship, forcing the returner to reset their position and rhythm, something Khachanov alluded to. Making an opponent wait can also disrupt concentration and momentum.

Zverev is not the only player known for such patterns. Early in his career, Novak Djokovic was infamous for repeated ball bounces before serving, drawing complaints from opponents. Marin Cilic has faced similar criticism over the years.

Still, Zverev was in control against Khachanov for much of the match. The Russian had a chance to fight back in the third-set tiebreak, earning two set points, including one on his own serve. He failed to convert either, allowing Zverev to close out the match.

Zverev, however, insisted the ball bouncing was not deliberate gamesmanship but simply part of his natural serving routine.

Alexander Zverev Claims Ball Bouncing to Be Natural

One of the most eye-catching stats from the US Open is that Zverev has reportedly bounced the ball more than 12,000 times at the event. When asked about it, the German had a simple explanation.

“I have no idea why. I don’t do it on purpose. I saw the statistic that I’ve bounced the ball around 12,000 times or something like that. It’s pretty funny,” said Zverev in his press conference. “I’m not counting them in my head or trying to reach a specific number.”

The crowd cheered when Zverev was hit with a time violation against Khachanov. With Ben Shelton waiting in Sunday’s final, the German may need to be careful. If the New York crowd sees his routine as gamesmanship, they are unlikely to stay quiet.

Given Shelton’s serve, Zverev will also be desperate to protect his own service games. That could tempt him to take extra time, particularly on second serves, leaving any violation call to the chair umpire. Whether he sticks to the routine, and how the crowd responds, could become a major subplot of the final.