# Zverev's 12,040 Bounces and the Clock That Can't Stop Him > The U.S. Open final's loudest villain is legal by the rulebook, which is exactly the problem. - Title: Zverev's 12,040 Bounces and the Clock That Can't Stop Him · SI - Summary: The U.S. Open final's loudest villain is legal by the rulebook, which is exactly the problem. Tennis capped the time before a first serve but left the second… - Keywords: tennis, us open, zverev, shot clock, rules, sports, Zverev's, 040, Bounces, Clock, Can't, Stop - Source: SI — https://si.com/tennis/alexander-zverev-controversial-serving-move-should-it-be-allowed - Published: 2026-09-12T16:14:31+00:00 - Read time: 3 min - Topics: tennis, us open, zverev, shot clock, rules, sports ## New York has a new villain Alexander Zverev joins Trae Young, David Ortiz and Denis Potvin on the list of players this city loves to boo. He is used to it. ## One win from a second slam The top seed at the U.S. Open is chasing his second Grand Slam title of the year, and only Ben Shelton stands between him and the trophy. ## Arthur Ashe picks a side Shelton, 23, is trying to become the first American man to win the U.S. Open singles title since Andy Roddick in 2003. The crowd will not be neutral. ## He said it himself Zverev leaned into the role before the final, framing his own win as the thing standing in the way of an American story. > Hopefully I cannot make the American Dream come true on Sunday. ## The routine makes it worse Zverev's pre-serve ball bouncing has become its own storyline heading into Flushing Meadows, and it is not helping his reputation. ## Khachanov says it out loud After losing the semifinal in straight sets, Karen Khachanov openly criticized how long the German takes before he hits a serve. > His ball-bouncing before the serve bothers a lot of players. ## Split-step, wait, repeat Khachanov described getting ready, then having to reset as Zverev bounced another dozen times, forcing a second split-step on almost every point. > You prepare yourself, then he bounces the ball another 12 times. ## Not the returner's job Khachanov stopped short of calling it cheating. If Zverev runs over the limit, the chair umpire should call it, not the opponent. > It's the chair umpire's responsibility to monitor that, not mine. ## What the rulebook actually says Grand Slam rules give a player 25 seconds from the end of the last point to strike the first serve. Nothing limits how many bounces fit inside it. ## The second serve loophole There is no separate clock between first and second serve. The rulebook only asks that the second serve be struck "without delay," which is not a number. ## Legal, and still infuriating By the letter of the rules, Zverev's routine is clean. The question the final raises is whether the rules are drawn in the right place. ## One warning, loud cheers Zverev did draw a time violation from the umpire during Friday's semifinal, and the crowd enjoyed it more than he did. ## Zverev pleads unconscious Asked about the habit, he said he does not count bounces or aim for a number, and sometimes loses track entirely. > I have no idea why. I'm not doing it on purpose. ## Highlights hide it Clips and highlight packages edit the bouncing out, so the delay barely registers on TV. On court, opponents feel every second of it. ## Roddick wants the rule changed The 2003 champion says you cannot bounce 20-plus times between serves and then act surprised when matches end at 3 a.m. > There needs to be a shot clock for the second serve. ## Buy back your time Roddick's fix: give players a few seconds to start the second motion, but let a fast first serve bank the leftover time for later. > If you start your first serve at 15 seconds, you get that added to your time between. ## Nadal and Djokovic did it first Zverev is not the inventor. Nadal built a reputation on ritual fidgeting, and Djokovic, who lost in the first round this year, draws the same complaints. ## Nadal hated the clock When the Australian Open adopted the 25-second clock in 2017, Nadal said it would hurt the sport in tough conditions, even as he expected to adapt. > Having a clock with 25 seconds playing in some extreme conditions you cannot have the best show possible. ## 12,040 bounces, and counting ESPN's tally through the semifinal is an estimate, but it marks the world No. 2 as a heavier offender than most, mind games included. ## Shelton just has to live with it No rule change arrives before Sunday, so the fix falls to Shelton: adapt to the rhythm, and use the crowd he already has. ## Key takeaway Tennis capped the time before a first serve but left the second serve unguarded, so a legal routine can still stall a match to 3 a.m.