Alexander Zverev Believes he Would have Beaten Jannik Sinner at the Vienna Open final

Alexander Zverev fell to Jannik Sinner in the final of the Vienna Open in three sets, after two hours and twenty-nine minutes on the court. Zverev gave one of his best performances of the season, forcing Sinner to dig deep in the match, but he failed to claim the win. However, that sealed his place at the ATP Finals in Turin.

Zverev has complained about a back injury that he’s been dealing with for the past three months. The injury has made him struggle on the court this season, particularly since the end of the North American hard-court swing. He failed to reach a tournament semi-final during the Asian swing as his woes were compounded when he fell to Arthur Rinderknech in Shanghai.

Surprisingly, at the Vienna Open, he showed a new level of grit and determination on the court, as he dropped only one set en route to the final. In the championship match, he faced Sinner, whom he had last beaten in 2023. The match started with Zverev breaking the former World No.1 in the fourth game.

The 2021 Vienna Open champion went on to claim the first set, but Sinner responded immediately after shaking off his physical issues on the court. In the deciding set, Zverev was looking set to win the match when the Italian began to struggle with cramp in his left hamstring. But the German star failed to take advantage of Sinner’s struggle.

Sinner fought hard to claim a decisive 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory, recapturing the title at an event where he previously triumphed in 2023. During an interview with Ubitennis, Zverev revealed that he was a bit unlucky during the match as he gave one of his best performances of the 2025 season:

I think some people have forgotten that, when I’m healthy and fit, I still know how to play tennis. It was a great match, very balanced and high-level on both sides. I looked at the stats: it was probably one of the best of the year. In the end, I was maybe a bit unlucky; it could have gone either way. Sinner won, serving impressively, but if we look at the last few months and how I played this week, it’s still a step forward.

Nonetheless, Sinner’s triumph at the Vienna Open takes him a bit closer to Carlos Alcaraz in the ATP rankings. The Italian currently has 10,500 points, while Alcaraz has 11,340 points. Should Sinner win the Paris Masters, he will overtake the Spaniard in the rankings, but only for a week, as he will drop to No. 2 again when the ATP Finals points are added.

Alexander Zverev gives his take on his rivalry with Jannik Sinner on tour

Alexander Zverev has met Jannik Sinner eight times on court and twice this season. Their rivalry has always been an interesting one as they both have four wins each after their eight meetings. Sinner won their first clash at the French Open in 2020, before Zverev beat them on four straight occasions. Sinner then regained control of their rivalry in 2024 at the ATP 1000 event in Cincinnati.

Since then, the Italian star has defeated Zverev in three consecutive matches. During the aforementioned interview, Zverev was asked about what makes his rivalry against Sinner special on tour:

We’re not the type to play a lot of variations, but with groundstrokes and speed, some very spectacular matches can emerge. He manages to show this level more often during the year —he’s reached four Grand Slam finals—but I think I played well. As I said, it could have gone either way; he won, and probably deservedly so, because in the third set he played a little better than me.

Zverev quickly traveled to Paris after his runner-up finish at the Vienna Open as he’s set to take part in a Masters 1000 event in the city. He will kick off the campaign at the Paris Masters as defending champion against a qualifier or Ugo Carabelli Camilo in the second round after earning a first-round bye.

Also Read: Alexander Zverev Calls Jannik Sinner ‘Best Player in the World’ After Defeat in Vienna Open Final

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