Critics didn’t hesitate to attack Alexander Zverev even after his monumental success at the 2026 French Open. However, former ATP pros Andy Roddick and Chris Eubanks were enraged at the length people went to tear down the German and unleashed a scathing review of their act.

“I’m kind of sick,” Roddick said on the latest episode of the Served Podcast. “You might not be a fan of Sascha (Zverev) for reasons or things that have happened off-court or whatever it might be. But there have been people on different podcasts who treat the guy like he is not a great player and that pisses me off… Because Carlos (Alcaraz) and Jannik (Sinner) are so good, I don’t ever wanna get to the place where anyone who is not them is treated like a piece of sh** like it’s ridiculous.”

Eubanks also echoed Roddick’s sentiment and remarked that people undermine Zverev’s level of tennis solely because of their opinion about his off-court antics.

“Like you said, a lot of this animus we hear about people talking about Zverev’s stems from their beliefs or their feeling about him off the court. We have to be able to separate the two and compartmentalize the objective,” he added.

The criticism of Zverev comes from various fronts. Even though he won 24 ATP titles before Roland Garros and even clinched Gold at the Tokyo Olympics, Zverev just couldn’t find a way to cross the finish line at Grand Slams. The German failed to win the 2020 US Open final despite having a two-set lead against Dominic Thiem, followed by losses at both the 2024 French Open and 2025 Australian Open. And since then, he had been labelled as a “choker” by many.

Roddick’s sympathy comes from a personal place, as he himself has faced such criticism during his playing days. He lost a total of four Grand Slam finals in his career while winning just one. Just like Zverev, he too was seen as inferior to the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and more. The American very well understands how condemnation of this level can affect a player and thus defended Zverev from his harsh critics.

While Zverev is likely to continue facing severe criticism, he has already proven his critics wrong on numerous occasions.

Alexander Zverev hits back at critics after French Open triumph

It is safe to say that Alexander Zverev turned a deaf ear to criticism and shut his critics, especially after his triumph at the French Open just days ago. He finally ended his long wait for a Grand Slam title by defeating Flavio Cobolli in a thrilling five-set final.

After conquering the Parisian clay, Zverev did not waste the opportunity to hit back at critics in his winner’s speech at the post-match press ceremony. “We’ve been losers at times in the most important moments. At the end of the day, we’re Grand Slam champions now, and that’s what counts,” he said in his speech.

He followed it up in the press conference and said, “If you call me the worst player to win a Grand Slam, I could not care less right now.”

After fulfilling his lifelong dream of winning a Grand Slam, Zverev will be blistering with confidence as he heads into the grass swing. Regardless of whether the 29-year-old plays a tournament or not before Wimbledon, he will still be among the top contenders to watch out for at SW19.