Novak Djokovic: Bold Alexander Zverev prediction made by BBC Sport pundit after ATP Finals
ALEXANDER ZVEREV will probably be world No 1 eventually despite his defeat to Novak Djokovic in the ATP Finals.
ATP Finals: Novak Djokovic reflects on Alexander Zverev win
That is the bold prediction of BBC Sport pundit Andrew Castle, who saw Djokovic comfortably brush aside the German in his second group game at London’s O2 Arena.
Zverev - who is fifth in the rankings - was crushed 6-4, 6-1 by Djokovic whose rise this year has been inexorable following his wrist problems in 2017.
While Zverev has been tipped for a bright future, he has failed to make much of an impression in the Grand Slams.
And former British No 1 Castle reckons Zverev has all the ingredients to reach the summit of the men’s game and his defeat against Djokovic was merely a learning curve.
“Zverev is on a journey and he’s just getting better and better,” Castle said after Zverev’s defeat.
“He’s only 21 years old.
“If he were 5ft 10 or 5ft 11, you may think that he’s already filled out.
“But he’s 6ft 5 and still filling out, he’s still getting stronger. His first serve was an average of 135mph.
If you want to measure yourself against the very best, that is what Zverev did today
“The bottom line was that the ball kept coming back from Djokovic.
“If you want to measure yourself against the very best and know exactly where you are, that is what Zverev did today.
“Lendl will be putting that all into his tennis computer.
“He’ll probably be world No 1 - I love what I see from Zverev.
“His volleys are still average at best, but better than most of the guys out there.
Zverev, meanwhile, fumed after his loss, bemoaning how long the tennis season is.
He said: “The issue is that our season is way too long.
"That's the issue. But I've said it before. We play for 11 months a year. That's ridiculous. No other professional sport does that.
"I haven't felt my best in, like, two months, to be honest.”