The US Open champion was criticised for the way he bounces the ball before serving. Khachanov first, in the semi-finals. Shelton next, beaten in the final, along with his father and coach Bryan Shelton. Mark Petchey then said the bouncing was not the point.
What the former British player noticed was the respect for the framework: “I love the fact that @AlexZverev plays within the rules. One of the very few players who walks around the net after the first game and at the changeovers in tiebreaks. Serves within 25 seconds.”
So here we are. A man walks around the net, and he gets congratulated in public. In 1980, you walked around the net because it was the net. Nobody posted a message about it. I’m not criticising. I’m comparing. First we put a clock on the serve, then we counted the bounces, and now we hand out honourable mentions for the route taken between two games. Note that I’m not against progress. I’m against this progress. Well. It’s the times.
Petchey then gave the only number he cares about: “The ball bouncing isn’t the issue. It’s the 70% plus 1st serves in that’s the…” — the first-serve percentage above 70, in other words, is what troubles the German’s opponents. He also credited Zverev with a bulletproof mentality and said a Hall of Fame career is coming.
On the substance, he is right. A first serve landing seven times out of ten was worth talking about long before video. The difference is that we said it at the café, between two people, and it did not last three days.
Zverev beat Shelton on Sunday for his second Grand Slam title, according to We Love Tennis.
It’s true, we checked: We Love Tennis.
