Alexander Zverev will head into tomorrow’s Madrid Open final as a huge underdog, given who he is against.
After all, Jannik Sinner is in truly electric form at the moment, particularly at Masters 1000 events.
His win yesterday over Arthur Fils marked a 27th consecutive one at this level, having won all of the last four tournaments of this stature. It’s hard to bet against him adding to his hot streak in Madrid tomorrow.
Alas, Alexander Zverev remains confident, as he must. But, when asked to preview the final, he seemed well aware of the task ahead of him.
Alexander Zverev previews his Madrid Open final vs Jannik Sinner
Speaking whilst still on court with Tennis Channel, the 29-year-old began by assessing his win over Blockx.
“Possibly,” he began when asked if that had been the best match of his week thus far.
He continued: “I think against Flavio I also played a fantastic first set, and, you know, in the second set it was a bit worse, but generally, I’m feeling well.
Who will win the men’s Madrid Open final?
“I look forward to the final. I think it’s going to be a very tough match, but, yeah, he’s been playing amazing tennis, I think it’s not going to be the last time that we’re going to see him in the semi-final of a Masters, so, he has a great career ahead of him.”
Then, looking ahead to the Madrid Open final against Sinner, he added: “Well, I don’t know [if the conditions favour him]. It seems like he’s been winning everywhere, so I don’t know if that makes any difference, but I will definitely go out there. I will try my absolute best.
“I feel like I’m playing a bit better than I was in Monaco, so I’m definitely going to give myself some chances and yeah, look, to win the biggest tournaments in the world you’ve got to beat the best, and Jannik is the best right now.”
Zverev and Sinner achieved a combined achievement that was last managed by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. When Carlos Alcaraz is absent, these two are undeniably linked.
Alexander Zverev has never beaten Jannik Sinner in a final
Whilst the sample size is small, it still represents an interesting mental hurdle for Zverev to overcome. After all, he has never beaten Sinner in a final, having faced him twice before at such a stage.
Their first meeting came in last year’s Australian Open final, which the Italian won emphatically to secure his maiden Grand Slam title.
Then, later in 2025, Zverev pushed him much closer in Vienna.
Despite taking the first set though, Sinner turned things around to win that final as well.
To further emphasise just how tough a task this will be for Zverev, even looking at other pressure matches like semi-finals does not help his cause either.
Do you really believe that Alexander Zverev can win a Grand Slam title?
He has won just once in six attempts, and that came all the way back in 2020.
It will take something truly special for Zverev to upset the world number one, who seems unstoppable at present.