Justine Henin blasted Alexander Zverev’s US Open performance as “a disappointment” because she felt the German had a great chance to win his first Grand Slam but didn’t have the courage and ultimately failed to deliver.
After Novak Djokovic suffered a shock US Open third-round loss and Carlos Alcaraz lost in the second round, the German tennis star had a clear path to making the final, where his toughest possible opponent could have been Jannik Sinner.Â
But just when the year’s French Open runner-up started being mentioned as the top favorite to come out of the bottom part of the draw and reach the final at Flushing Meadows, his run came to an end in the quarterfinal following a 6-7 (2) 6-3 4-6 6-7 (3) loss to Taylor Fritz – who then went on to make the final before losing to Sinner.
After blasting 42 unforced errors and seeing his run in New York come to an end earlier than expected, Zverev used the word “terrible” when assessing his performance from the baseline and admitted that he “did nothing to deserve to win.”
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Henin on Zverev’s US Open exit
And after the 27-year-old criticized his own play, the Belgian former seven-time Major winner noted that the new world No. 2 simply had to find a way to do more.Â
“Zverev is a disappointment. There were expectations. For me, it’s mainly the manner. I found him extremely defensive. At one point, you say to yourself that to win a Grand Slam, and he came close to doing it at Roland Garros and at the same time so far, he has to dare even more,” Henin said on Eurosport France.
“Against Fritz, I saw him fall back into his old ways. I think there are strong decisions to make to win a Grand Slam tournament, particularly on calendar issues. It was his 73rd match [of the season]! He can highlight his backhand that let him down, but for me it goes further than that. And at some point, you have to save yourself and find your peak form, Djokovic is the master in this area.”
In the same interview, the Belgian tennis legend that Zverev still has “a lot of things to work” in his game.Â