Even the best players in the world have that one opponent who completely gets inside their head. For world No. 3 Alexander Zverev, that is Jannik Sinner.
It’s so rare to see a top-tier athlete admit they are completely lost while a match is still happening. But that’s exactly what Zverev did during a recent clash with Sinner, and former US Open champion Andy Roddick knows exactly how that feels.
Andy Roddick Relates His Roger Federer Nightmare to Alexander Zverev’s Struggles Vs. Jannik Sinner
During the Monte-Carlo Masters semifinal, in which he lost 6-1, 6-4 to the Italian, Zverev turned to his father in his player’s box and spoke in Russian. The broadcast microphones picked it up, and commentator Nick Lester translated the confession on Tennis TV: “I don’t know how to play him.”
For Roddick, hearing a player of Zverev’s caliber openly admit to being clueless in real time was a surprise.
“I mean, can you quantify that? The world No. 3, one of the best players on earth, is looking at the guy across the court and he’s like, ‘I can’t figure this guy out.’ And he’s played him a ton,” Roddick said during the “Served” podcast.
Roddick shared that during an offseason conversation with Zverev, the German admitted that playing Sinner creates more anxiety for him than playing anyone else on the ATP tour, even Carlos Alcaraz.
“I talked to Zverev in the offseason, we had a long chat, and that matchup stresses him out the most,” Roddick explained. “He’s like, ‘Even with Carlos…’ And tennis is all about matchups. That’s not to say that Zverev says this therefore he thinks Sinner is better than Alcaraz, or vice versa.”
Roddick also gave his take on exactly why Sinner is mentally taxing the German star, comparing the situation to his own historically one-sided rivalry with Roger Federer.
“I can relate to what Zverev is saying. I never said it out loud on the court, but I knew specifically with Roger… my game was slightly more effective based on what I did well against Rafa and Novak. But against Roger specifically, everything I did, he didn’t mind.”
Roddick has famously lost four Grand Slam finals to Federer, with a 3-21 head-to-head record against the Swiss legend. Interestingly, the American is one of the very few players in tennis history to hold a winning head-to-head record against Novak Djokovic (5-4). However, most of their matches were between 2007 and 2012, before the Serb rose to the top. Roddick also has a 3-7 record against Rafael Nadal.
Zverev is set to play at the BMW Open in Munich, his home country, as the defending champion and favorite. Sinner, meanwhile, is on a break and could return for the Madrid Open.
