The unwanted all-time record Alexander Zverev is rapidly closing in on after defeat to Jannik Sinner

Follow us on Google Discover

The second half of Alexander Zverev’s Sunshine Double ended exactly how the first half did: a defeat to Jannik Sinner.

Two weeks after falling to him at the Indian Wells Open, Zverev was beaten by Sinner at the Miami Open in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6.

The German, now third in the ATP live rankings, has yet to reach a final this season, having suffered near-misses in the semifinals of the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami.

Three of his five losses in 2026 have been handed to him by either Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz, with the Spaniard besting him in the final four in Melbourne.

Zverev has struggled against top-five opponents recently, and now he is closing in on an unwanted all-time record.

Alexander Zverev’s poor streak against top five players on the tour

Excluding the ATP Finals, Zverev has now lost a 12th consecutive matches against top-five opponents on the ATP Tour.

The only player with more such defeats since the rankings were first published in 1973 is David Ferrer, who once tallied 15 in a row, according to Opta Ace.

The last time Zverev beat a fellow top-five player was at the 2024 Australian Open, where he defeated Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.

Since then, he has been unable to battle past the very best in the world.

• 2024 Australian Open semifinals: Lost to world number three Daniil Medvedev
• 2024 Indian Wells Open quarterfinals: Lost to world number two Carlos Alcaraz
• 2024 Roland Garros final: Lost to world number three Carlos Alcaraz
• 2024 Cincinnati Open final: Lost to world number one Jannik Sinner
• 2025 Australian Open final: Lost to world number one Jannik Sinner
• 2025 Cincinnati Open semifinals: Lost to world number two Carlos Alcaraz
• 2025 Laver Cup: Lost to world number five Taylor Fritz
• 2025 Vienna Open final: Lost to world number two Jannik Sinner
• 2025 Paris Masters semifinals: Lost to world number two Jannik Sinner
• 2026 Australian Open semifinals: Lost to world number one Carlos Alcaraz
• 2026 Indian Wells Open semifinals: Lost to world number two Jannik Sinner
• 2026 Miami Open semifinals: Lost to world number two Jannik Sinner

Alexander Zverev says he will continue to be more aggressive

Zverev has made it clear this season that he wants to play more aggressively, and the loss to Sinner has not changed that plan.

“For the rest of my career, I’m going to be that player,” he said, as per the official Miami Open website.

“I thought the second set could’ve gone both ways. I felt like I started to really dominate from the baseline.

“Of course, the last few games he was serving incredibly, and I was barely touching the ball. Credit to him.

“Of course, the overhead I missed is very unfortunate. That decided the tiebreaker at the end. I lost the ball a little bit and jumped and mistimed it. It is what it is. We move on.”

Sinner now leads Zverev 8-4 in their head-to-head, and has won their last seven meetings on the tour.