Tennis Podcast: Familiar feeling as Alexander Zverev loses at the US Open
In cricket, Shane Warne once commented that Monty Panesar, rather than having played 33 Tests, had simply played the same one 33 times. In tennis, it’s an observation which applies to Alexander Zverev after the German went out of the US Open in very familiar fashion – beaten by a lower ranked opponent after a series of gruelling matches in the early rounds had sapped his energy.
If it were possible, Monday’s defeat was perhaps Zverev’s most alarming yet as he was plagued by the service yips and dominated from the baseline by a player in Diego Schwartzman who, if this were boxing, would be several weight divisions below Zverev. On the Tennis Podcast, presenters Catherine Whitaker (Amazon Prime Video, Eurosport) and David Law (BBC 5 Live, BT Sport) discuss what happened.
In what way have Zverev’s matches become depressing viewing? How has he gone from looking like a really special player to a more ordinary one within a year? Why does he persist with the tactic of grinding from the baseline rather than imposing his big game? And where does he go from here?
Elsewhere, there’s chat about Naomi Osaka’s defeat at the hands of her nemesis Belinda Bencic, praise for Elise Mertens, Donna Vekic and Matteo Berrettini who are all making their way through the draw quietly but brilliantly, and astonishment at the latest Rafael Nadal hot shot.
There will be daily editions of The Tennis Podcast throughout the US Open, produced in association with The Telegraph.
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