Alexander Zverev may not have had the best season in 2025 but he has wasted no time kicking off the new year in style, gifting Germany a 2-0 United Cup lead over the Netherlands.
Zverev was the favourite to come out on top in the men’s singles on Sunday, taking to the court after teammate Eva Lys defeated Suzan Lamens, and dismissed Dutch star Tallon Griekspoor 7-5, 6-0 at Ken Rosewall Arena.
Fans in Sydney got a glimpse into the offensive-focused playing style Zverev has been opting in favour of in recent years, although Griekspoor quickly challenged that style.
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With a 3-0 lead in the second set, Zverev was forced to retreat into a more conservative playing style in bid to ensure he got the point, much to the joy of Griekspoor.
While it was one of the few moments that Zverev was forced to change his game, American great Jim Courier noted the importance of the German nailing that style.
“One of the challenges for Sascha [Zverev] is that he’s been trying to play more offensively … he knows he needs to do that to elevate his game,” Courier said on Nine.
Alexander Zverev plays a backhand. Getty
“He can do it for long stretches in match, but in critical moments his tendency is to pull back and play more conservatively which has cost him often.
“It might not cost him in this game but we have seen a little bit of that.”
Zverev managed to get through that short hiccup with ease and went on to push forward through the rest of the set with little issue.
However, he could not overlook the many unexpected challenges he faced.
“The first set, it was tough to get rhythm,” Zverev said in his on-court interview.
“Once I got the chances, I did well and I’m very happy with the win.
“I think my serve was all right, to be honest,” he added, laughing.
“Everything else was difficult to judge because there wasn’t many long rallies, there wasn’t really much rhythm, but a win is a win.”
Still, Courier had one wish that he hopes will come true for the 198cm German.
“If there is one thing I wished the tennis gods could give Sascha, it would be the ability to just play the same no matter what the score is,” he added.
“He has not been able to do that in some critical matches and it has cost him.”
Zverev waved to the crowd after winning the match before rushing to the locker rooms to prepare for his next match, being the mixed doubles event.
He joined Laura Siegemund for the doubles against Tallon Griekspoor and Demi Schuurs.