Alexander Zverev says if he ever believed he would outperform Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at Grand Slams this year
Alexander Zverev has performed better than any other ATP player at Grand Slams this year.
Men’s tennis had been dominated by Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz over the past couple of years, with this year’s Australian Open being the ninth consecutive major one of them had won.
This all changed at Roland Garros, where Zverev won his first major title after Sinner suffered a shock early exit.
Zverev has now reached the US Open final, his third consecutive Grand Slam final this year, and after his win over Karen Khachanov, he spoke about his impressive season at the major tournaments and how it compares to Sinner and Alcaraz.
Alexander Zverev claims ‘not many’ people believed he could do this well at Grand Slams
In his post-match press conference after beating Khachanov 6-3, 7-6(7), 7-6(6), Zverev was asked if he ever believed he could actually outperform Sinner and Alcaraz.
While Zverev stated that he always had belief, he claimed that media did not necessarily have that same belief in him.
“I believed in it, I believed that it was possible,” Zverev responded. “I think not many of you guys did!
“I think the question was always, will Carlos and Jannik play all four Grand Slam finals between each other again. I’m happy with how this year went so far, but I’ve got another big match on Sunday, and that’s my focus.”
Zverev has reached at least the semi-final of all four majors this year for the first time in his career, and has reached at least the final of three of those.
While Sinner and Alcaraz have also won a Grand Slam title each this year, they have not found the same consistency as Zverev and both have had to miss at least one major due to injury.
| Grand Slam | Jannik Sinner’s result | Alexander Zverev’s result | Carlos Alcaraz’s result |
| Australian Open | Semi-final | Semi-final | Won the title |
| Roland Garros | Second Round | Won the title | Did not play |
| Wimbledon | Won the title | Final | Did not play |
| US Open | Did not play | Final* | Quarter-final |
Alexander Zverev joins exclusive group after reaching US Open final
With Zverev reaching the three consecutive Grand Slam finals this year, he has now joined an exclusive group of players to do so this century.
Only six other ATP players have reached at least three consecutive Grand Slam finals since 2000, with Zverev joining Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Sinner, Alcaraz and Andy Murray.
Djokovic has reached three consecutive Grand Slam finals more times than anyone else, having done so five times in his career, but Federer has the longest ever streak of consecutive major finals.
Federer achieved this between 2005 and 2007, when he reached the finals of 10 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments.
| ATP players who have reached at least three consecutive Grand Slam finals since 2000 | Streaks of at least three Grand Slam finals in a row |
| Roger Federer | 10 (Wimbledon 2005 – US Open 2007), 8 (Roland Garros 2008 – Australian Open 2010) |
| Novak Djokovic | 6 (Australian Open 2015 – Roland Garros 2016), 4 (Wimbledon 2011 – Roland Garros 2012), 4 (Australian Open 2021 – US Open 2021), 4 (Australian Open 2023 – US Open 2023), 3 (Wimbledon 2018 – Australian Open 2019) |
| Rafael Nadal | 5 (Roland Garros 2011 – Roland Garros 2012), 3 (Roland Garros 2010 – US Open 2010), 3 (US Open 2013 – Roland Garros 2014) |
| Jannik Sinner | 5 (US Open 2024 – US Open 2025) |
| Carlos Alcaraz | 4 (Roland Garros 2025 – Australian Open 2026) |
| Andy Murray | 3 (Wimbledon 2012 – Australian Open 2013), 3 (Australian Open 2016 – Wimbledon 2016) |
| Alexander Zverev | 3 (Roland Garros 2026 – US Open 2026*) |
Zverev is still a long way from matching the likes of Federer and Djokovic, but he is putting himself in good company.
The German will now have the opportunity to have won more Grand Slam titles than any other man this year when Zverev faces either Ben Shelton or Frances Tiafoe in the US Open final on Sunday, September 13.
