American wildcard Brandon Nakashima has been praised by Alexander Zverev when he lost in the 2020 US Open at Louis Armstrong Stadium at Flushing Meadows.
Zverev beat Nakashima 7-5 6-7(8) 6-3 6-1 in the second round of the US Open on Wednesday. Both players own flawless two-handed backhands, and much prefer that wing to their forehand.
“Yeah, he definitely has that talent. I think there is a lot more to being a top-20, top-25 player than just talent. He can decide for himself. It’s in his hands and his coach’s hands. Yeah, he definitely has the potential.” Zverev said.
“I mean, look, yeah, it’s two players that are not here, and they are two of the greatest. So obviously it will have a little bit of an effect, but I think this year’s US Open is different in many ways. We don’t have spectators, the crowd is gone, and stuff like that.
“So, yeah, it has an effect. Obviously it’s not the same, but at some point those two will retire, as well. And we will play every tournament without them.” Zverev added.
Nakashima has only played four ATP level matches, so finding enough useable footage to study could prove challenging. However, Zverev has great respect for the 19-year-old tennis player.
“His serve surprised me a lot because he doesn’t serve very fast, but his placement is incredible. He can go any corner. He has all the serves that you need. His second serve is incredibly good.
“Yeah, he’s very young, he still needs to develop, but his development over the last few months, years, has been very good.
“So I think he can, you know, what’s his ranking now, 100-something? He’s going to be top 100 in no time. I think he’s going to go even further.” Zverev added.
