Andy Roddick has called for a drastic rule change amid a US Open controversy surrounding the number of times Alexander Zverev bounces the ball before beginning his service motion.
The German reached a third consecutive Grand Slam final by defeating Karen Khachanov in straight sets in their last-four clash.
Zverev is searching for his second Grand Slam title in his last three major appearances, having ended his drought at this year’s French Open.
He will contest the showpiece match against Ben Shelton, who defeated fellow American Frances Tiafoe in four sets to reach his maiden Grand Slam final.
Zverev will enter Sunday’s match as the overwhelming favourite, given he holds an impressive 5-0 head-to-head record against Shelton and has won 10 of their 11 contested sets.
However, during his quarter-final match, ESPN revealed that the world No 2 had surpassed 12,000 ball bounces before serving across just five matches.
The issue is not a new one for Zverev, with opponents often complaining that he is given too much time before beginning his service motion, with the ball sometimes being bounced as many as 25 times before a serve is struck.
Currently, players are given 25 seconds from the end of the previous point before they must begin their service motion, with the shot clock started by the umpire.
However, Roddick, a former world No 1 and US Open champion, has weighed in on the debate and suggested a major change to the rules governing the time between serves.
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“The rules should change,” the American stated during an episode of his Served with Andy Roddick podcast.
“As long as he [Zverev] is doing it within the 24-second shot clock, what are you going to say?
“There needs to be a shot clock for the second serve. You cannot bounce the ball 20-something times between first and second serve. You cannot do it and then act shocked when we finish at 3 am in the morning. You cannot do it.”
“Are you ready for a crazy one? You have four or five seconds to start your motion after your first serve, but you can buy back some time. So if you start your first serve at 15 seconds, you get that added,” he later suggested.
“Here is the issue with the clock. One, we have to fix if you toss the ball, you should not be able to catch it. The toss is part of the serve. It’s a waste of time. If you mess up your toss, that should be on you. I never had wobbly tosses and I got no credit for it. You should not be able to catch your toss; it’s part of your serve. Is it a skill? Yes. So why do we get do-overs? I don’t get one on my backhand.
“There has to be some sort of reining in between serves. You can’t just start over each time.”
Following his semi-final victory over Khachanov, Zverev was asked why he bounces the ball as often as he does before serving.
“I have no idea why, I don’t do it on purpose,” the German responded.
“I saw the statistic that I’ve bounced the ball around 12,000 times or something like that. It’s pretty funny.
“I’m not counting them in my head or trying to reach a specific number.”
