World No.3 Alexander Zverev has claimed he will never be able to play like reigning Australian Open champion Roger Federer and 16-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal.
Zverev, who is touted as the player, who will replace Nadal and Federer as the sport’s next superstar is of the view that he will have to find his own way of beating his opponents because he will never succeed in copying the likes of Nadal and Federer.
The German has not been at his best in Paris, barely surviving his second and the third round contests as he was taken to five sets on both the occasions. In round 3, he was down a match point, when he managed to find a way to reverse the tide in his favor before eventually winning 6-2, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6, 7-5 to seal his spot in the fourth round of the tournament.
Zverev has struggled big time at the Grand Slams, failing to reach a Major quarterfinal despite winning three Masters 1000 titles and being ranked No. 3 in the world in his short career.
However, he insisted that with the help of the right kind of coaching, he will definitely break his Slam hoodoo much sooner than later.
“The coach is the person that gives you confidence in the moments where you don’t have it yourself,” Zverev said.
“A coach will see what you need to work on before it goes wrong. And that’s what my dad has been doing great for the past 20 years with me.
He also said: “We are always going to work on different things. Also tactical things.
“[Coaches] are going to watch matches of opponents, previous matches, spot things.
“They’re going to kind of have the same mind as you and kind of get into your body and play the game with you as you are, because, I mean, I will not be able to play like Federer, I will not be able to play like Nadal so I have to find my ways to hurt different opponents.
“I think that’s what a coach will give you.
“He’ll give you the right directions to do that.”
The 21-year-old has worked with former French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero in the past, but had a bitter fallout with the Spaniard during the first quarter of 2018. Currently, Zverev is being coached by his father Alexander Zverev Sr.
