Alexander Zverev was unable to keep his emotions in check during a feisty practice session ahead of the Australian Open. The German remains without a Grand Slam title, despite having previously made the Australian, French and US Open finals.
His last Major final appearance came a little under 12 months ago when he lost in straight sets to Jannik Sinner at the showpiece event in Melbourne. While the 28-year-old will be hoping to right the wrongs this time around, Zverev’s preparations haven’t got off to the best of starts, given the tennis ace had a mini-tantrum during a practice session.
Zverev was enjoying a light rally with practice partner Alex de Minaur when he attempted a sliced backhand return, but the 2025 runner-up failed to make the right contact and could only find the net. It sparked fury inside Zverev, whose reaction was to turn towards his equipment area and toss his racket over the electronic advertising boards.
Zverev will enter the tournament as the third seed and will discover his path to potential victory when the main draw takes place on Thursday. His 2026 didn’t get off to the best of starts, with Hubert Hurkacz defeating him 6-3, 6-4 in a recent United Cup match.
Much like his practice session this week, Zverev also destroyed a racket during the United Cup encounter, leading to suggestions he isn’t in the right frame of mind to challenge at the Australian Open. However, former world No.1 Andy Roddick believes he’s only one small adjustment away from properly competing.
Speaking on the Served podcast, Roddick explained: “It also sucks that his entire career is going to be defined by if he can beat those guys [Alcaraz and Sinner] twice in a row at a major, and win one. He is a phenomenal player. The career resume is amazing.
“If I had to come up with a way or an adjustment I’d like to see, most people are like: ‘step inside the court and flatten out your forehand.’ His technique doesn’t suggest that that’s an option. Like, I could step in and hit big forehands and then I would play Andre [Agassi] who could rush me to that side, and I was hitting off my back foot.
“His [Zverev’s] backhand is amazing. Crush and rush off the second serves, serve and volley a little bit more. Do these things where every point of aggression isn’t about picking out the right ball and doing something uncomfortable three or four shots into a rally.
“I think it’s about blunt force trauma type aggression where you’re choosing to do this and play this way from the first ball, and then all of a sudden it makes your stock game of wanting to drift back a little bit more effective. That’s what I think.”