Alexander Zverev has taken his fair share of criticism in 2018—whether warranted or not—but the German believes that he’s made improvements to his game and his results, even if nothing about Zverev’s impressive campaign jumps straight off the page and screams next-level.

“I think this season has been better than last year actually even though I only won one Masters, last year I won two,” he told reporters in Paris. “But I made two other finals. I've made five semifinals of Masters, which I didn't do last year.”

Zverev, still just 21, may have made his biggest win when he lined up Ivan Lendl to be his full-time coach. Though the German didn’t immediately thrive under Lendl’s tutelage this season, we should probably expect a major jump in his form once 2019 gets underway.



In truth, Zverev’s 2018 may have not beaten the lofty expectations many set for him after what he accomplished in 2017. When a player breaks through on the Masters 1000 stage like Zverev has done in the last two seasons, it’s only natural to expect Grand Slam success to follow. The German has been in the Top 5 for some time now, but his results at the Slams are more Top 20-ish. He has yet to reach beyond the quarterfinals in his career, and has only made the second week at a major twice in 14 appearance.

That said, a big breakthrough was made at Roland Garros, where Zverev won three consecutive five-setters and reached the quarterfinals at a major for the first time. It may have not been the breakthrough that many had hoped for, but it’s something to build on for Zverev nonetheless.

“I've also improved at the Grand Slams, I thought, a little bit, especially in Roland Garros I thought I played well until I got injured unfortunately,” he said. “But besides that I thought this season was even maybe better, and also, the season isn't over yet.”

" Yeah, I mean, I think this season has been better than last year actually even though I only won one Masters, last year I won two. But I made two other finals. I've made five semifinals of Masters, which I didn't do last year." (1/2) pic.twitter.com/aX7Hl4kWKF

— Christopher Levy (@tennis_shots) October 30, 2018