Former World No.1 Tips Alexander Zverev to Challenge Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz

Alexander Zverev’s bid for a second Grand Slam title came to an end at the Wimbledon Championship final on Sunday (July 12) after losing to Jannik Sinner in a thrilling four-set match. Despite the loss, former World No. 1 Mats Wilander believes the German star now has what it takes to challenge Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz on tour.

Zverev ended Sinner and Alcaraz’s two-year dominance in Grand Slam tournaments after beating Flavio Cobolli in the final of the French Open. The championship victory was his first major title win, having come close thrice on the court. Also, that gave him more confidence on the court as he won 13 consecutive major matches.

In fact, Zverev has lost just two of his last 17 matches on tour, which proves his excellent form on tour. Nonetheless, there was a noticeable gap between the 29-year-old and Sinner when they faced off at the Center Court for the Wimbledon final. Though Zverev won the first set after a tiebreak, he lost his momentum in the third set.

Sinner wasn’t at his best at the Wimbledon Championships final, but Zverev didn’t show any conviction about defeating the Italian star. Sinner hit 14 unforced errors during the encounter, 7 of which came in the opening set, but covered it with his 28 winners, and that was enough to beat the German star 6(7)-7, 7-6(2), 6-3, 6-4 in the final.

The World No. 1 ensured he earned his 10th consecutive win over Zverev after a three-hour, 46-minute encounter. The last time Zverev defeated Sinner was at the 2023 US Open. Wilander revealed to L’Equipe that Zverev was already defeated mentally before taking to the court against Sinner, but he can improve on that and challenge the Italian star and Alcaraz on tour:

I imagined that, after his title at Roland Garros, Zverev would play with more freedom, but there is still a gap. Not physical, but mental. I’m not sure he truly believed he could beat Sinner. That being said, I would say the margin will shrink a bit more after this final, and Sascha should keep closing the distance over the next twelve months at least. For a player of his caliber, Alcaraz and Sinner cannot remain untouchable forever.

Sinner has found the right tactics to beat Zverev on the court. Most of the time, Zverev plays better against Alcaraz than against Sinner, even though he has not been able to play with convincing confidence against either player. The last time Zverev defeated Alcaraz was at the 2024 ATP Finals in Turin.

Mats Wilander says Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are levels above other players in the ATP

The biggest question on the ATP Tour is which player can rise to challenge Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. The duo seems to be way ahead of the rest of the players in the men’s circuit. Sinner’s unbreakable consistency has become a big problem for players to counter. The World No. 1 has demonstrated his willingness to win as many titles as possible this season.

With Alcaraz’s absence, Sinner has dominated the men’s circuit with ease. The only time he failed to show his best was at the French Open last month, where he lost to Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the second round in five sets.

During the aforementioned interview, Mats Wilander revealed that despite Zverev’s challenge at the Wimbledon final, Sinner demonstrated why he remains at a level with another German star:

Jannik demonstrated, just like Alcaraz, that he remains a level above when it comes to crucial points, the ones that change the course of a match.

The ATP Tour will now move on to the North American hard-court swing. After some ATP 500 tournaments, the challenge will fully kick off at the Canadian Open in August. Sinner has already admitted that he intends to play at the ATP 1000 tournament in Montreal. However, Zverev and Alcaraz might not feature at the event.

Also Read: Stars Flock to Centre Court as Jannik Sinner Wins Back-to-Back Wimbledon Titles