Former World No. 1 Gives His Take on Whether Alexander Zverev Still Has Chance to Win Major
Alexander Zverev lost two Grand Slam finals to World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz and World No.2 Jannik Sinner.
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Alexander Zverev (Image via ATP)
When Alexander Zverev emerged on the scene during the era of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, he was considered the next big thing on the men’s tour. As the dominance of the Big 3 started to decline, two youngsters came who, just like the legendary trio, denied Zverev glory in the Majors.
The two youngsters, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, have swept away the last eight Grand Slam titles. Since 2024, Sascha has made it to two Grand Slam finals, losing both to Sinner and Alcaraz.
Last year, Zverev reached his career’s second Grand Slam final at the French Open, where the 22-year-old secured a hard-fought five-set win. This year at the Australian Open, he was no match for Sinner, losing the final in straight sets.
Does Zverev still have a chance of tasting Grand Slam glory? Yevgeny Kafelnikov, a former player from Russia, gave his opinion regarding the same during his interview with CLAY.
I have no idea. He’s 28, so he still has a chance. There are examples: Thomas Muster won his first Grand Slam at that age. But the competition is brutal, with Alcaraz and Sinner completely dominating the Tour. It’s not easy to improve at that stage of your career because it requires a lot of sacrifice: changing the way you train, changing many aspects of your game.
The first time Zverev reached a Major final was at the 2020 US Open. Zverev squandered a two-set lead to lose the match to Dominic Thiem.
It’s the same with [Daniil] Medvedev. Unless he does something fundamentally different, he won’t compete for a Grand Slam again. There are many things that need to change, but the main question is whether they’re willing to dedicate themselves completely, 24/7, to improving. Sometimes players aren’t willing to do that. They’re comfortable with what they already have.
Yevgeny Kafelnikov added
This season, Zverev, apart from reaching the Australian Open final, made it to two more championship clashes. He defeated Ben Shelton at the Munich Open but failed to beat Sinner at the Vienna Open.
Yevgeny Kafelnikov on whether Jannik Sinner’s doping case has affected his reputation
Jannik Sinner’s incredible performances this year have helped the tennis world forget a bit about the doping scandal. But the doping saga, for sure, Sinner won’t be able to erase from everyone’s memory. Yevgeny Kafelnikov, during that same interview with CLAY, was asked whether the doping case has affected the four-time Grand Slam champion’s reputation worldwide.
A little, certainly. But it’s not for me to judge. He’s a very good guy for tennis. Look at what’s happening in Italy right now: tennis is exploding in popularity, even compared to football. The rivalry with Alcaraz is also fantastic for the sport, and I hope it lasts for many years.
Sinner was contaminated by clostebol but was not given a severe punishment by the anti-doping agencies. This led to the accusations that Sinner received preferential treatment because of his high-profile status.
The Italian ace was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for three months. The ban started following his Australian Open triumph and ended before the Italian Open, where he reached the final and lost the match to Alcaraz.
Sinner made nine more finals and ended up winning titles at Wimbledon, China Open, Vienna Open, Paris Masters, and the ATP Finals. He also made the finals of the French Open, Cincinnati Masters, and the US Open, losing all to Alcaraz.
Only two players other than Alcaraz were able to defeat Sinner this year: Alexander Bublik in the second round of the Halle Open and Tallon Griekspoor at the Shanghai Masters (Sinner gave the walkover).
Also read: Former WTA Player Unconvinced of Other Players Challenging Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner
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