For the third time, Alexander Zverev has been left devastated and heartbroken following a Grand Slam final after Jannik Sinner thrashed him to retain his Australian Open crown.
Zverev was looking to do what he couldn’t do at the French Open in 2024 and the US Open in 2020 and end his long wait to win one of the big prizes on offer in professional tennis.
It wasn’t to be though with Sinner showcasing some tremendous ball-striking capabilities to comprehensively defeat Zverev by three sets to love, winning 6-3, 7-6, 6-3.
Sinner broke records galore during the final. The runaway leader at the top of the ATP World Rankings proved to be no match for Zverev who seemed nervous and tentative throughout the final.
Zverev was left distraught at the end of the contest. He once again takes up the role of bridesmaid and he must now be wondering whether or not he will ever get his day in the sun.
Alexander Zverev shares what Jannik Sinner said to him after Australian Open Final
There was a very nice moment at the end of the match where Zverev was consoled by Sinner after breaking down in tears, with the realisation setting in that the German had made it an unwanted hat-trick of Grand Slam final defeats.
Zverev was quizzed on the exchange after the defeat during his press conference. He’s opened up on what the world’s number one player said to him after the crushing defeat.
He explained: “Yeah, I mean, I was quite down. I was quite emotional also in that stage. I think he saw that. He said that I will definitely lift one of those trophies in my career. I’m too good not to. That’s his words.
“Yeah, it was a little bit of a tough moment for me because I really went in the final and also the preparation today, I really thought I had a very good chance because I was feeling good. I was feeling the ball quite well. I was feeling like I can compete, yeah.
“So it was just a difficult moment for me. I mean, now for the third time, seeing somebody lift the trophy, me standing next to that is difficult because there’s nothing more I want than to be able to hold one of those trophies in my hands.”
Sinner praised for act of sportsmanship
This wasn’t just about being a good sport, it was also about being a good human being. Sinner didn’t celebrate wildly on the court and it felt merely like business as usual for the Italian.
It was a great moment between the top two tennis players in the world on one of the grandest stages and his lovely touch didn’t go unnoticed on social media among followers of the sport.
Sinner was simply too good for Zverev on this occasion. In our view, it’s hard to disagree with him, however, and the 27-year-old world number two will almost certainly win one of these titles at some point.
Zverev simply has to take heart from his run to another final. It might not feel like it straight away but he’s still put himself into a position to win one of these titles and it does feel as though he’s doing most of the right things right now.
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