Alexander Zverev’s rivals believe he’s ready to win a Major (Image: Getty)
As prepares to face in the final, his rivals have been talking.
The world No. 2 has an Olympic gold medal, Masters 1000 titles and two ATP Finals trophies but he’s never won a Grand Slam.
Zverev lost his last two Major finals, which came in 2024 and 2020 respectively, and the rest of the locker room now has a theory about his hopes of finally winning one of the sport’s biggest titles.
Zverev advanced to his third Grand Slam final after was forced to retire injured during their semi-final match on Friday. Afterwards, the 24-time Major winner admitted he was rooting for the German.
“I wish Sascha all the best. You know, he deserves his first slam. I’ll be cheering for him. Hopefully he can get it here,” the world No. 7 said.
It will come as a huge boost to Zverev – and as a blow to Sinner, who will be well aware that one of the sport’s greatest champions is cheering against him.
And Djokovic doesn’t seem to be the only one, as Eurosport pundit Rachel Stringer revealed most players in the locker room thought it was Zverev’s time at the Grand Slams.
Novak Djokovic revealed that he was cheering for Alexander Zverev to win the title (Image: Getty)
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“Jannik there knows that Zverev has the backing of which is probably a sign of their great friendship,” Stringer said.
“It seems like it’s not just Novak who thinks also thinks that. A lot of players in and around the dressing room also believe that maybe this year is Zverev’s time.”
Retired player Barbara Schett backed Stringer’s theory, revealing that plenty of players had been talking about Zverev’s ability to get his hands on the elusive Grand Slam title.
The former world No. 7 replied: “Yes, I think everybody has been talking about it. That he’s the one player who deserves a Grand Slam title.
“He got so close a couple of times and it’s nice to actually hear that from your peers, that they believe in you. If you have somebody like backing it up, that’s even better.”
Zverev’s first Grand Slam final came back in 2020, in the -hit US Open. It was one of the first tournaments held after a complete shutdown of the tennis tours during a pandemic and the championship match was played behind closed doors.
Then aged 23, Zverev led Dominic Thiem by two-sets-to-love before being dragged into a deciding set. Zverev served for the title at 5-3 in the fifth but he was broken, and Thiem won 2-6 4-6 6-4 6-3 7-6(6).
Almost four years later, Zverev had another shot at Major glory in the 2024 French Open final. Once again he blew the lead, as stormed back to win 6-3 2-6 5-7 6-1 6-2.