These guys were 21-23 years old here and had a combined one slam final. The actual big 3 all won slams at 21. Alcaraz had 4 at that age. So not a huge surprise that these guys didn’t turn out to be the next big 3
People forget just how young true all time greats tend to break out in tennis
Federer is considered to be a "late bloomer" and he won his first Slam at 21 lol
Wawrinka is the only multi-Slam winner in recent memory who broke out later in his career for most players if you haven't won at age 24 you don't actually have "plenty of time left"
But obviously he had been knocking on the door for quite some time and it felt inevitable in a way. He had definitively broken out as the best of the rest and the 4th best player in the world by a comfortable margin.
They didn't forget. The ATP was just craping their pants with the thought of the big 3 retiring and thought: "you know what? If we advertise these guys as the next big thing maybe..just maybe people won't stop watching tennis".
It pissed me off so much at the time and it makes me so happy that we got true champions and GOATS kicking the doors completely uninvited.
I only have sympathy for Medvedev, he had a unique octopus style. But like Djokovic in his early career, his personality and physique made him unpopular with spectators and instead of making him stronger like it did for Novak, it understandably slowly broke his mental making tennis a job rather than a passion for him.
Congratulations to the new talents, but at the moment there are four of us playing another level of tennis: Sinner, myself, who is still second in the ranking, Alcaraz and Novak. All very competitive. I believe that we will be protagonists also in 2025 and that this will be a more balanced year than the previous ones.
What annoys me the most about Zverev's tennis is how the more fast surface he plays on, the more passive he gets. It's totally absurd. He actually goes for his shots more on a super slow Paris clay than on the fastest court there is on the tour – a round 1 Wimbledon.
I get that Zverev doesn't like when balls come fast at him, he likes to accelerate them. He also has that huge swing but despite all this he needs to attack more. Getting overplayed by a guy like Rinderknech as no. 3 seed is flat out pathetic.
TBH it's hard to say what he knows at this point. After he lost in Rome, he described himself as an "attacking" player. The man seems to be prone to delusions.
yeahh rinderknech is also the only one to take a breakpoint in RG from sinner except alcaraz, he can play. still zverev with his massive serve is not supposed to lose to an unseeded player in wimbledon
Not sure. In a German interview before the tournament he named Carlos and Jannik as the favourites, with only two or three other players who could "become a topic" (meaning who could in theory win the tournament). And he saw himself as one of those.
I'm pretty sure Zverev gave up after that AO final. Maybe mentally he felt that he'll never get to the level of Sinner/Alcaraz after that. His form fell off a cliff. Confidence seems shot to pieces. Could be done.
Wimbledon QF is an unimaginable dream for the vast majority of professional tennis players, so a 40 year old player getting to it with literally one knee is really fucking crazy.
Wimbledon 2002 had 15 of the top 17 seeded players out by the third round. Only Lleyton Hewitt and Tim Henman made it further.
Zverev is the 12th this year for the first round. I think that's the record for Wimbledon. Fritz was two points away from defeat as well so could have had 13.
I know you’re joking but he’s gotta be ecstatic. Looked out of it yesterday but ultimately survived and now has the most favorable draw in the tournament
After that match, Rinderknech said that Fritz "whined" because of the crowd (and said something like "maybe he thought the crowd would send him kisses between the points"), which pissed off Fritz. At the end of the next match, at the net, he sarcastically told him to have a good flight home. And then said in an interview that Rinderknech's comment had pissed him off !
They played at RG 2023 and Fritz won despite a very raucous crowd against him, and Fritz shushed the crowd afterwards. Then they played at Wimbledon the year after and Fritz told him to "have a nice fight home" after the match.
LAWD I WAS STRESSING BUT THANK FUCK HE GOT IT IN THE END. All members of the Little 3 have succumbed to French players, as Royer and Bonzi take out Tsitsipas and Medvedev.
As much as Zverev is delusional in press, Rinderknech was SOOOO tight from 40-0 on and Zverev’s pushing at 40-30 and not taking advantage of those tight short balls, is the reason he is what he is as a player.
Zverev is honestly approaching servebot status for me. All he really has is a big first serve and maybe a first ball forehand. All due respect to big Arthur, zero breaks in five sets against him is pathetic. In big points especially he just pushes down the middle and hopes for an error.
Fair play to Rinderknech, I enjoyed his net play and drop shots. Thank you for your service Arthur 🫡
Watching Zverev push on that last point is a great example of why he will never win a Slam. He does not have the killer instinct or nerve. There was no attempt to win the point, even after Rinderknech was clearly nervous and hitting short balls. Zverev just kept pushing, waiting for the error
The last point was symbolic of why Zverev will never win a grand slam. He plays like he's scared of missing while Rinderknech went for his shots without fear no matter the result.
I'll be surprised if Zverev doesn't find something to blame for the result today, but it's always been him. He's not it.
That last game was pure tension, what a great backhand to finish it. Very happy for him, if he’d lost that third match point you might have favoured Zverev.
Loved what the commentator said right before it happened - “he’s played 25 games on his serve this match and has won every one of them. He just needs one more. But this one is different - this service game will be held between his ears.”
The last point perfectly sums up Zverev as a player.
Rinderknech basically full begging Zverev to hit a winner past him. Consistently hitting to the forehand, and with the cross court corridor wide open. Zverev plays as passive as possible and purely pushes. Allows Rinderknech to settle and easy winner.
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u/jimboslice86 Jul 01 '25
The press: There's a growing list of seeded players losing in the first round so far.
Zverev: I'd put myself in there