Teenagers don’t normally win Grand Slam tournaments. It just doesn’t happen that often.
However, there is a great deal of hype surrounding rising German talent Alexander Zverev that he could end 2016 with something special to shout about.
The last time anybody under the age of 20 captured one of the big four tournaments was way back in 2005, when Rafael Nadal managed it at the French Open. In fact, only seven teenage players have won Slams since the Open Era kicked in, and the last one of them do to so on the famous grass courts of SW19 was Boris Becker in 1985.
Becker was an unseeded outsider on the day he won it outright over 30 years ago, and although Zverev isn’t quite the nobody his fellow countryman was back then, there are quite a few similarities between the pair.
Can the player nicknamed “Sascha” by his tour peers go on and do the unthinkable to win Wimbledon? Or does he need to grow into his role as the best young tennis player on the planet?
NextGen doesn’t need to arrive...yet
If you have yet to see “Sascha” weave his magic, don’t fret because it looks like the world no. 28 has the skill set to survive a very long time in the tennis game so you’ll probably see more than enough of him in the coming years.
It might be too early to tip him for true greatness, but the fact of the matter is that this young man is one of the most naturally gifted handlers of a racket the game has seen in years.
Recently, he surged to the final in Nice, reached the third round of the French Open and also made it all the way to the final at Halle so it's fair to say he’s pushing himself to be the best he can right now. Clearly he's a player who likes to play regular tennis at the highest levels, but while his performances have been gripping, the most exciting thing about him is that we don’t quite know just how good he can become just yet.
He’s a burgeoning talent right now, whirling his way through the rankings. So far, he’s enjoyed the ride and that’s how it should be for such a precocious youngster. If we buy into the hype – and there’s little reason to believe we shouldn’t – it’s easy to admit that there will be plenty of time for him to develop into the player so many expect him to.
The last couple of years have been awash with mentions of the next wave of talented male youngsters coming through the ranks eager to put an end to the same old discussions about the “Big Four”, monopolies and bagel-laden sets. It’s only natural to get excited whenever a starlet begins to twinkle, but the reality is that it will take time for today’s burgeoning masters to become true suzerains over whatever type terrain they purvey.
That said, the general consensus is that Zverev is best equipped to ruffle the top dogs’ feathers in the meantime because he has already teased us with snapshots of brilliance as well as provoking praise-heavy tidbits from none other than Rafael Nadal, who dubbed him a “future No.1”.
Wimbledon can reveal more about him
It’s the holy grail of tennis. The place where legends meet to issue their rallying cries in the plush surroundings of the all too brief English summer. And this year might just be the one where we witness a future great tread his first devastating steps. Yes, he has already marked the courts of the tennis world with his presence and produced some rip-roaring action for the television cameras to eat up but he has yet to really let loose on a Grand Slam stage.
If he plays without fear, Wimbledon could become his playground.
It’s hard to say with any degree of concrete certainty which surface he plays best on, but we’ll have a better idea of that by the time 2017 rolls into view and Zverev can bask in what’s sure to have been a successful year. However, we are sure discover a great deal more about his psychology, his endurance and his appetite for the big occasions the best of the best simply relish.
We all know that he’s tall and powerful, can nip around the court with a slick speed that catches the eye and is incredibly aware of precisely how to exploit the space and tactics needed for victory against many of his peers.
Yes, he’s still growing and improving, and the raw package is certainly one to admire, but the spectators are sure to be a heck of a lot more familiar with him by the time they become full of the strawberries and cream which are so synonymous with Wimbledon.
As a kid, Zverev pushed himself to take up tennis. It wasn’t his family, his friends or his peers. Sure, they will have supported him along the way but it was he who clicked with the sport and decided to pursue it as a career. He, himself, was drawn to enter the sphere of serves, ‘tweeners and forehands and that tells us a lot about how self-motivated he is. Indeed, it’s a trait which has no doubt played a major role in helping him hurtle up the rankings.
That he is the first teenager in 10 years to be ranked inside the top 30 shows us not just how good he is, but how hard he has worked to become such a groundbreaking individual.
He knows how to beat the best
Without question, one can possess all the natural ability in the world but if you’re not putting it to good effect you won't catch the eye for very long.
Suffice to say, Zverev has been profiting off his intrinsic class ever since he was old enough to mix it with the best in the business and although he has only recently attracted admiring, straining considerations from the masses, he has never been one for pandering to the hype – he’s simply done his utmost to get on with the task of winning regardless of who he had been playing.
Back in 2015, he took on and defeated Kevin Anderson at the Cincinnati Masters and also overcame Sam Groth at the Miami Open the same year (he also beat Novak Djokovic at the Boodles Tennis Challenge that same year.)
Zverev, then, has been doing all he can to prove that his youth has not been wasted on himself, nor indeed has his talent.
However, things took off at rocket propulsion speed only recently when “Sascha” dumped Roger Federer out of the Halle Open. It’s not too much of an overstatement to say that the Germany tournament is usually Fed’s to lose but Zverev paid little heed to any tags, favourite or underdog, as he stunned the Swiss star 7-6(4) 5-7 6-3.
It was a collision of old and new worlds and this time the future prevailed as the 19-year-old made one of the greatest tennis players of our time look well and truly past his prime. It wasn’t an easy workout but the fact he was able to dismantle Fed’s gameplan spoke volumes about his quality. If before the match his prestige had been in question, the aftermath saw a potential new era rise from the ashes as he moved past the talk and the speculation to lay on an exhibition of just how dangerous the so-called NexGen players could be on their day.
So, he has it in his locker to dismiss the very best and that could prove to be his big-hitting power moving forward.
His proclivity for reaching high is indicative of a winning mentality that has been sculpted over the years and it’s finally starting to reap the rewards for everyone to see. Perhaps one day he’ll be the world no.1 everyone pines to emulate.
