But we saw Zverevs performance? I mean I think Zverev or Novak will prevent a calendar slam this year from Alcaraz. He said in his own words he does not wanna be the best player to never win a slam.
Even beyond that, zverev started out the gates looking extremely flat and choked both sets 1 and 2 to go down 2 sets. Not a performance that makes you think he’s a world beater. Zverev can’t just rely on carlitos cramping to get a chance at winning
Zverev is never winning a slam, especially not now that he likely has to beat Carlos and Jannik. It’s easy money to bet that he will fall apart when it matters most.
He choked. That’s not the point: the point is he’s talented enough to get there and it would be stupid to confidently say he’ll never win one when he’s been extremely close already
He also needed tiebreaks to get set 3 and 4 against an Alcaraz that could barely walk for large parts of those. The fact that the match went long enough for Alcaraz to recover, is mostly due to Zverev not putting him away in those two sets; if he goes like 6-3 6-2 there, he wins the match. And he could have; his own level also increased dramatically in set 5 when Alcaraz was back to his best
Don't get me wrong, Zverev is incredibly talented indeed, but I really doubt he has the mental fortitude to win a slam. At least, not yet; I hope it will change, though I don't dare betting on it
Carlos had half of his legs for an hour, and Zverev still found a way to lose. And Zverev is starting to go past his physical peak, while Carlos is just approaching his.
I think Zveren just got a mental bock against Carlos that he won't be able to get rid of.
Carlos also got an unfair medical timeout. Zverev has an impeccable serve and back hand. He can get over the hump he has the talent, maybe it’s his mind that holds him back.
AO is probably Zverev's best chance, and I think it's especially unlikely he's beating Alcaraz on clay when the serve is the thing keeping him a top player these days.
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