Tour Strokes: Alexander Zverev Serve

[johnyandell]

Doc,
Agreed.

[doctorhl]

For whatever reason, the Federer, Henin, etc. stance and torso rotation seem to be able to adjust to slight variances in toss location and timing better than Zverev’s.

[johnyandell]

Yes it would! But the article is mainly just an exercise in analysis and understanding--certainly applies to many many other than Z. I may try to get at his dad, but again, either way it's worthwhile.

[stotty]

It's a good article. What makes it frustrating is that John's recommendations seem quite simple and doable...easy to grasp and understand...for player and coach.

You can understand why some coaches would be reluctant to take on some technical changes despite good information being laid out in front of them. Milos's backhand would be a more complicated thing (in my view) to take on. Even if his coach understood the problem if would still have the dilemma of 'how' to go about changing it. It's one thing being supplied with the knowledge; quite another knowing how to set about achieving technical changes.

In the case of Zverev, the fix would be surprising simple for a player with so much ability.

[johnyandell]

Thanks! Been studying him for awhile...

[dpremsagar]

My goodness! I commend this site for such brilliant timing of this article!
Zverev indeed had 2 DFs in the deciding tie-breaker and there was almost a third one, a 68 mph serve that barely went over the net.
It's a shame for somebody with such a well-rounded game overall to still have this glaring flaw holding them back.

[johnyandell]

J,
I would have to agree...

[J011yroger]

If I had an hour with Alexander on court he wouldn't have been crying after the match...

Hurtful truths flying on tennis player.net

J

[johnyandell]

Yeah for some that is true. But someone fixed Milos's backhand if you noticed... I had to laugh at that one response to my comment!

[postpre]

If I had an our with Alexander on court he wouldn't have been crying after the match...

John, I agree. I saw your comment on Allen Fox's post. It's baffling his team can't figure this out. Sadly, I guess technique improvements end when you reach the tour.

[johnyandell]

If I had an hour with Alexander on court he wouldn't have been crying after the match...

[jimlosaltos]

When Zverev won yesterday he had only 2 doubles and won 50% of second serves. The prior match he had 11 doubles but won 51% of points on his second serve. Had second serves in the 130s in both matches. He may not be concerned as long as he doesn't have batches near the end of matches. It will be interesting to see what his new uber-coach David Ferrer does in that area. Let's Google -- for his career the Little Beast won 52.4% on his seconds, without his new charges canon.

[arturohernandez]

Platform vs. Pinpoint. As much as a pinpoint can work it just adds more complications to the equation. I used to have a pinpoint which broke down when I had to play doubles more. I then retooled and switched to platform. It took a really long time but eventually it got better. I have tried switching back and it just make my serve yip all over the place.

Does Zverev hit his very good overhead with a pinpoint stance?

Elite players are elite for a reason. But truly elite want something else. Look at how much Nadal changed his serve. Look at Djokovic who suffered horribly but eventually brought his serve up to such a high level that we don't even notice how good it is. Henin retooled her serve by switching to a platform.

I wonder if a platform stance would lead to better rotation of the body, upward movement and more spin. Armed with a serve in the high 110's and a super solid second serve, Zverev would be unbreakable. The confidence gained would be immense.

Man, I wish we could do the experiment, that players would be willing to retool their games. The greats do it but the level below are not willing to. I really wish they did!

[stroke]

He is holding 93% of the time and has the 3rd fastest serve of the tournament. But it certainly remains to be seen how it holds up at the business end of this tournament. I am still a bit unconvinced still. I much prefer Berrettini's(very close height wise) spin component options on the serve.

[jimlosaltos]

In case you're tracking Zverev's adventures while serving seconds, here's last night's much delayed (my NY county healthcare) match. 11 doubles, but he is not shy, hitting them, incl one second serve winner at 132 mph.