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The Tennis Media Trying To Uglify Zverev’s Triumph
12 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
The dysfunction of tennis continues. As the sport soars, the self sabotage never ends.
The tennis media is so rotten and despicable it’s actually trying to find faults in and to uglify Alexander Zverev’s magical, monumental, majestic US Open triumph. Despicable.
Andy Roddick is out there calling Zverev an “energy vampire” because of how focused and tunnel visioned he was, head down between points, not engaging with the crowd. Yes, that desperate idiot Andy Roddick actually called Zverev an energy vampire.
Wertheim and Rothenberg are out there still trying to portray Zverev as a beater of women, though he won his case vs his two accusers, who both never contacted any police but instead told their stories to the most rotten, controversial journalist of all about a year later.
It’s unbelievable that the anti Zverev smear campaign is still in play. Now that Zverev has beaten the tennis deep state and is reigning supreme, the hatchet swinging tennis media is still trying to character assassinate Zverev at a time when he should be celebrated and lauded for overcoming all his enemies and haters. Zverev’s win was a beautiful, inspiring poetic justice victory. But there are those sad souls in the tennis media who are hellbent on uglifying this beautiful achievement.
Shame on everyone involved in the anti Zverev smear campaign. Alexander Zverev is a two time Grand Slam king of tennis this year and the undisputed best tennis player in the world today. He’s a funny guy, intelligent, classy, imperfect of course with many flaws like all of us, and he is very well liked by most all the players in the locker room and the sport overall – except for a terrible, vicious hate-filled gang of tennis deep state media stooge shills like Roddick, Rothenberg and Wertheim.
The tennis world would be a better place if Roddick, Rothenberg and Wertheim and their negative energy were given a one way ticket to he Rikers Island Tennis Academy.
adidas · Alexander Zverev · Germany · Head tennis · US Open
Andrew Miller · September 17, 2026 at 12:19 pm
Not going to rob Zverev of his trophy. He won fair and square. I don’t think he’s a great guy, but he put in the work and has triumphed with a US Open title, against a vastly improved Ben Shelton. It is also stunning to me that these incredibly tall men are moving like gazelles – I am used to the power tennis of the Michael Stich days but we are well past that. Gotta appreciate how much ground they cover. They made it to a lot of balls, more than I’ve seen before from guys this size!
If we’re on the subject of good guys versus not good guys, hard to see why we’re not covering Boris Becker etc. People are complicated. I’ll stay focused on his tennis for the moment: he really won this one.
On another note, has anyone seen the Pete Bodo farewell to the sport on his Substack? I recognize tennis media has changed a lot but he doesn’t hold back the fire. I think he’s right on pretty much everything from the USTA to the new focus on influencers and gambling to the mistreatment of players, making them play at all hours. I am grateful the sport for the most part still resembles itself, even if it is now a war of attrition.
Scoop Malinowski · September 17, 2026 at 2:03 pm
Andrew I have met Zverev and he is a great guy. I also know his best friend Marcelo Melo a lil bit and he is a class act good guy too. I have observed Zverev a few times over the years and has always nee a first class guy, I never saw him be a jerk off the court, I witnessed he is cool with just about all the other players, respectful, I like him a lot, he gave me a great Biofile spontaneous in DC years ago. I think you were influenced by the media smear campaign which sadly is still in play unfortunately.
Andrew Miller · September 17, 2026 at 8:37 pm
Scoop, it’s not for me to pile on players or rob them of their well deserved triumphs. Tennis is a tough, gladiator sport and people are complicated. If everyone wants to make the case that you can’t win the US Open because you have messed up in some way I’m pretty sure there wouldn’t be any US Open champions.
On my end I’ve never been a Zverev fan and I don’t follow him much, other than he has a rock solid game and in the post Nadal/Djokovic/Federer/etc era he has nabbed two slams now. Again I am stunned overall that pretty tall guys, near giants actually are dominating the sport. We continue to live in the world Agassi said was coming. I’m also stunned that Sinner, Alcaraz are letting anyone in the club but I have thought for a while they are beatable.
All court games
Players with few weaknesses
Extraordinary athleticism
Players that are bigger and cover more ground
Etc.
That wasn’t the era Agassi played in for most part, eras I increasingly doubt many recall. Agassi himself is a museum piece having retired twenty (twenty!!!) years ago. I don’t think the game is *that* different from twenty years ago (mid 2000s), but it’s definitely different than 30 years ago (1990s) and it’s a lot harder to get away with weaker wings.
Other than tennis strategy.
Scoop Malinowski · September 17, 2026 at 8:51 pm
Andrew, how these big guys are moving now is astounding, I think it all started with Jerzy Janowicz, if you remember him and his semifinal run at Wimby ended by Sir Andy Murray. I remember Gimel saying “the sky’s the limit for this guy.” But he petered out, I heard poor decisions like training on clay for an upcoming hard court, sloppy stuff like that. Wasted talent but boy could he move. It will be tough for players under 6-2 to reach the top but a modern day Rios could flip the script.
Andrew Miller · September 17, 2026 at 9:01 pm
We had a modern day Rios! Rafael Nadal! We pretty much have a modern day Nalbandian also.
Scoop Malinowski · September 18, 2026 at 8:00 am
No way Andrew, there never will be another Rios, who came from outer space and a different dimension as Luke Jensen theorized in my Rios book. Rios was the alien of tennis. Still out there getting in trouble too, the latest was he was caught with another woman at a casino, not his current girlfriend. He got divorced for the third time two years ago. Seems he is back in Chile and no longer in Sarasota FL where his house is being sold by his ex wife for about $10m.
Steve · September 18, 2026 at 1:16 pm
Thinking of champions who were even on both sides and relatively tall(6’3″) you gotta think of Guga. Of course, he was the first to maximize the spin potential of the poly strings which are standard today. He moved like a gazelle in his prime.
However, I consider Alcaraz somewhat “normal sized” with more of a gymnast’s physicque like Laver.
Scoop Malinowski · September 18, 2026 at 5:31 pm
Laver was 5-7, Carlos is over 6-1. Guga wasn’t really tall he was more lanky and “ropey” as I remember Carillo describing his physique. Safin was about same size maybe 6-2. Rosset and Ivanisevic were the two big guys but were not exceptional movers.
Andrew Miller · September 18, 2026 at 10:41 pm
Love Guga! Another mercurial talent. Really appreciated Guga only when seeing him hit in person, his ball striking was far cleaner than I imagined. When Guga beat him at Roland Garros definitely made sense!
Scoop Malinowski · September 19, 2026 at 7:02 am
Guga, the man who did a tryout for a sponsor investment but was rejected because he looked too skinny, then Guga won FO a year later! I still say some of the finest tennis ever played was Lisboa ATP finals by Guga beating Agassi and Sampras indoors to clinch no. 1. Nobody in history was beating him that weekend. Even a broken shoe couldn’t stop him (diadora).
Steve · September 19, 2026 at 8:36 am
I said a gymnasts’ frame when referring to Carlos & Laver, I wasn’t referring to their heights.
No way Carlos is 6’1″.
Guga was tall.
Scoop Malinowski · September 21, 2026 at 1:14 pm
Yes I could see Carlos and Laver thriving on the uneven bars and even the pommel horse. And also the rings and also the vault. )