Zverev says attacking approach can help bridge gap to Sinner and Alcaraz

LONDON, July 12 : Wimbledon runner-up Alexander Zverev will rise to second in the ATP world rankings on Monday and while Centre Court conqueror Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are the dominant forces in men's tennis, the German believes his new attacking strategy can help him close the gap.

The 29-year-old went toe-to-toe with world number one Sinner on Sunday, snapping a run of 14 lost sets to the Italian to lead the final before losing 6-7(7) 7-6(2) 6-3 6-4.

It was his 10th loss in a row to Sinner but unlike most of the other nine, this one was a real fight. Had it not been for a fall at 3-3 in the third set on his only break point of the match, Zverev may well have become the first German man to win the singles title at the All England Club since Michael Stich in 1991.

Zverev's French Open triumph last month was his first Grand Slam title at the 41st attempt, although some will point to the fact that Sinner lost in the second round and Spanish seven-time major winner Alcaraz was absent with an ongoing wrist injury.

MORE ATTACKING APPROACH

The new-found belief that the win over Flavio Cobolli at Roland Garros injected into Zverev was evident at Wimbledon where a far more attacking approach, especially with his forehand, fired him to his best-ever run at the grasscourt Slam.

"I've said it at the beginning of the year, and I've stuck to it. That's the tennis I want to play. That's the game style I want to play," Zverev told reporters.

"There were matches in the beginning of the year where I was struggling a bit more with this style, but I was consistently doing it. The more I do it, the better I'll become.

"I won a Grand Slam for the first time in my career in Paris. I made it to the finals here for the first time in my career.