Alexander Zverev lowered his head, congratulated his overpowering opponent fairly at the net and sat down on the bench in disappointment. The German tennis professional missed the coronation at the Australian Open in the final showdown against Jannik Sinner and has to continue to wait for his first Grand Slam title. The 27-year-old deservedly lost 3:6, 6:7 (4:7), 3:6 against the world number one and defending champion from Italy.
Zverev’s final trauma continued in the Rod Laver Arena. After the US Open 2020 and the French Open last year, the Hamburg native also suffered a defeat in Melbourne in the last step towards winning the Grand Slam tournament. In the history of professional tennis, only five players before him had lost their first three Grand Slam finals.
:Next frustration final for Zverev – Sinner wins Australian Open
The German’s Grand Slam dream does not come true once again. In the final in Melbourne he was behind against Jannik Sinner early on – and the South Tyrolean was clearly the better player until the end.
If he had won against Sinner, Zverev would have become the first German men’s Grand Slam tournament winner in 29 years. Back then, Boris Becker triumphed in Melbourne. In addition to Becker, Steffi Graf, Michael Stich and Angelique Kerber from Germany were also able to celebrate Grand Slam titles in the professional era. Sinner, who won his 21st win in a row, wrote against it Tennis history for his home country. He is Italy’s most successful player with three Grand Slam titles – and that at the age of just 23. In addition to the prestige win, Sinner also collects prize money worth the equivalent of 2.11 million euros. Zverev can at least console himself with a bonus of 1.14 million euros.
On Australia’s national holiday, Zverev had little access to his opponent’s service games. He himself had greater problems getting his service through. After fending off two break points when the score was 1:2, Zverev loudly cheered himself on: “Let’s go!” But Sinner finally took advantage of his sixth break chance and deservedly took the first set because he was the winner in most of the longer rallies. Zverev made too many mistakes, especially with his forehand, and the length of his shots was often not right. Some stops and volleys also failed. Zverev was also initially dissatisfied with the quality of his shots in the second round. He indicated several times that he would throw his bat on the ground. Sinner, who struggled with physical problems during the tournament, had to survive a moment of shock when the score was 3:4: after a long lunge, he grabbed his back left thigh with his hand.
After that, the Italian didn’t move quite so smoothly anymore. Zverev now sensed his chance and played a little more risky. The German was very unlucky in the lost tiebreak when he fell behind decisively at 4:5 due to a net roller. He then let out his frustration on the bench by slamming the racket onto his bag. Tournament winner in April at the International Court of Arbitration for Sport Sinner was also better in the decisive situations in the third set. After a successful break, he evaded the German, who didn’t get a single break chance until the end. The world number one converted his first match point after 2:42 hours.
“It’s amazing how Jannik Sinner ignores these background noises,” said Eurosport expert Becker. Sinner is accompanied by a doping shadow. He still faces a ban of up to two years following the hearing before the Cas International Court of Arbitration for Sport in April due to his acquittal after two positive doping tests.
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