Alexander Zverev once again suffered a defeat to Jannik Sinner as his best Indian Wells run came to an end in the semifinals.
Zverev was beaten by Sinner 6-2, 6-4, despite the Italian seemingly struggling with a back problem throughout the match.
This has extended Sinner’s lead in the head-to-head over Zverev to 7-4, and he has now won the last six consecutive meetings.
When reflecting on the latest defeat for Zverev against Sinner, 18-time Grand Slam singles champion Martina Navratilova has explained why she thinks the German is struggling so much in this rivalry.
Tim Henman and Martina Navratilova explain why Alexander Zverev lost to Jannik Sinner
Zverev has tried to play a more aggressive game style this year, as he looks to close the gap on both Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
However, he was unable to really utilise this new style to great effect against Sinner, and former world number four Tim Henman believes that Zverev played right into the hands of his opponent.
“I felt that Zverev kind of handed Sinner the breaks, it wasn’t as if Sinner played brilliant tennis to kind of win those points and in the second set he had opportunities in the early part and you felt that if Zverev could have got one of those then turn the tables,” Henman said after the match on Sky Sports.
“But, it was a little bit of a sense of deja vu on the side of the court, sort of almost waiting for Sinner to take those opportunities and yeah, 6-4, 6-2 straight sets, thank you very much, very comfortable.”
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Navratilova then weighed into the conversation, as she was full of praise for the way Sinner played, particularly highlighting his willingness to come to the net.
The former world number one then explained that Sinner’s tactic really exposed Zverev’s lack of variety, suggesting that this is why their recent head-to-head is so one-sided.
“He just backs his shots so well, and he attacks the return of serve so well,” Navratilova said about Sinner. “He clobbered Zverev’s serve on the second serve points. Zverev served well, but not well enough and Jannik just doesn’t let you breathe, he just keeps pushing you and pushing you.
“He’s done so well moving to the net, and his technique is just perfect, Darren Cahill has really improved his volley, and transitioning to the net.
“Zverev’s just too far behind the baseline, he didn’t have enough to bother Sinner…I think Zverev doesn’t have enough variety, he doesn’t have enough of a backhand slice to bring Sinner inside the court, so he’s only running side-to-side, he doesn’t have the soft hands to pull him off the court and Sinner can do that all day long and eventually gets on top of a point and eventually it’s all over.”
| Year | Tournament | Result |
| 2020 | Roland Garros (R16) | Sinner beat Zverev, 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-3 |
| 2020 | Bett1Hulks Championship – Cologne (SF) | Zverev beat Sinner, 7-6(3) 6-3 |
| 2021 | US Open (R16) | Zverev beat Sinner, 6-4 6-4 7-6(7) |
| 2022 | Monte Carlo Masters (QF) | Zverev beat Sinner, 5-7 6-3 7-6(5) |
| 2023 | US Open (R16) | Zverev beat Sinner, 6-4 3-6 6-2 4-6 6-3 |
| 2024 | Cincinnati Open (SF) | Sinner beat Zverev, 7-6(9) 5-7 7-6(4) |
| 2025 | Australian Open (F) | Sinner beat Zverev, 6-3 7-6(4) 6-3 |
| 2025 | Vienna Open (F) | Sinner beat Zverev, 3-6 6-3 7-5 |
| 2025 | Paris Masters (SF) | Sinner beat Zverev, 6-0 6-1 |
| 2025 | ATP Finals (RR) | Sinner beat Zverev, 6-4 6-3 |
| 2026 | Indian Wells (SF) | Sinner beat Zverev, 6-2 6-4 |
Martina Navratilova says if she thinks Alexander Zverev believes he can beat Jannik Sinner
With Zverev losing his last six consecutive matches against Sinner, and winning just two of the 15 sets they have played in those matches, it would be unsurprising if his belief has dwindled in this rivalry.
When asked if she believes Zverev still believes he can beat Sinner, Navratilova suggested that he does, but knowing that he will need something to be off for the Italian.
“It’s hard to tell, because he has admitted that ‘I’m just not as good as these guys, so I need to get better in some ways to really compete’,” answered Navratilova.
“He would have had to redline it and they would have to have an off day to lose…So I think he believes he can beat them, but he needs help from them.
“He’s not going to beat them the way he plays, they just do everything a little bit better and particularly the transition game it just really showed in this match how much more Sinner was at the net and winning the points when he got there.”
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Sinner did have a physical issue against Zverev in their semifinal at Indian Wells, and yet the match still only lasted one hour and 23 minutes.
Zverev will now head to Miami for the second half of the sunshine double, having achieved his best result at the Floridian Masters 1000 tournament in 2018 when he reached the final.
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