Novak Djokovic’s comments to Alexander Zverev will serve as warning to ATP Tour rivals

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Alexander Zverev has revealed that world No 1 Novak Djokovic has told him he is ‘still at the highest point of his career’ after the German spoke about closing in on the Serbian and his dominance.

Djokovic has no doubt been the dominant force in tennis over the past decade, and made history this campaign by ending as world No. 1 for the seventh straight year.

However one man who is looking to close in on the Serbian’s dominance is Zverev, after announcing himself as one of the sport’s best in recent years.

As a result the German showed he was more than capable of competing with the Serbian great at this year’s Olympic Games, after pipping Djokovic to gold in the men’s singles in Tokyo.

Speaking about his improvements throughout 2021 Zverev said: “I can only ever speak of myself, but I think that I have improved my game a lot in the last few years.

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“I don’t only see that when I play against Novak, I also see that when I play against others.”

Despite this, the 24-year-old from Hamburg revealed he himself has been warned by Djokovic that he is still competing at the height of his career, which is no doubt a scary thought for those bidding to dethrone him off the world’s top spot.

Zverev continued: “I also talked about this with Novak. Novak feels like he is still at the highest point of his career. 

“He also told me that he is serving better now than he ever served before. He sees his tennis game as good as he used to see it. 

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“He has no problems from the baseline, so I already think we’re improving.”

The German capped off another impressive season on the court by clinching the campaign-ending title by winning the ATP Tour Finals in Turn.

As a result, Zverev saved some of his best tennis for the season finale, as he defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-4 to claim the finals crown for the second time in four years.

Heading into 2022 the 24-year-old believes he has matured in recent years, which he feels is only helping his performance on the court as he progresses through his career.

He added: “I’ve become much calmer. I’m also getting older. I’m not 18 or 19 anymore. 

“I understand maybe a bit more things about life and understand that you just have to keep calm in important situations. 

“That has had its effect on me this year. But the biggest improvement I’ve made is my second serve. I haven’t had any matches in the last six months where I served 20 double faults.”

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