Alexander Zverev sends a clear warning to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, as he aims for Grand Slam titles
Alexander Zverev lost the 2024 French Open and 2025 Australian Open to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, respectively.
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Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (Images via X)
Alexander Zverev is still searching for his first career Grand Slam. The German star, who began to show a glimpse of his talent during the end of the Big 3 era, was predicted to win several major titles. However, it has not gone so well for the World No.2 as he still struggles against the young generation Slam champions Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
In fact, for the past year, Zverev has had two chances of winning a Grand Slam. He reached the 2024 French Open final but failed to play his best tennis against Alcaraz, which saw him lose the title in five sets. In January, he got to the Australian Open final and, this time around collapsed to a straight set defeat against Sinner.
The German star has enjoyed a great run in the ATP but is yet to become World No.1. He has been heavily criticized for not taking his chances when it matters, but at the Rio Open, he is willing to do just that. He equaled Sinner for the most ATP match wins (80) since the start of the 2024 season.
The World No.2 defeated Alexander Shevchenko in straight sets to reach the Rio Open quarterfinals. After the victory, he said during the press conference he aimed to improve and compete with Sinner and Alcaraz.
My goal is to compete with Jannik and Carlos for the biggest titles and for the world No.1. There are some things that they do better than me so I need to improve on those things.
Alexander Zverev said via Rio Open Press
Zverev is participating in the ATP 500 Rio Open for the first time in his career. If he does win the title, it will be a major boost for him as he aims to close the gap between him and Sinner, who is currently serving a three-month suspension.
Alexander Zverev excited about improvements at the Rio Open after reaching the quarterfinals
Alexander Zverev has been at his best at the clay-court Rio Open but finds a way to beat his opponent. He battled hard in the heat against Alexander Shevchenko on Wednesday (February 20) to seal a 7-6(1), 7-6(6) victory over the Kazakhstan star. The German star trailed in the two tie-breaks before mounting a comeback in the two-hour and 28-minute battle.
During the aforementioned interview, when asked how he felt about the win, he revealed that he was pleased with it. He added that despite the weather conditions, it was a good improvement from his first round performance.
Generally, I thought it was a pretty good match. It’s not easy conditions here. It’s hot, humid. You go to your limits sometimes physically. I thought he played a very good match, so happy with the win and definitely happy with the improvement from yesterday.
Alexander Zverev said
Zverev is now into his consecutive sixth clay quarter-finals. He will play Argentine Francisco Comesana, who defeated Nicolas Jarry 7-6(4), 6-7(1), 7-6(6)in the Round of 16.
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Victor Okechukwu
(739 Articles Published)