Alexander Zverev admits what Jannik Sinner did to him which left him totally stunned, 'I just have no idea'

Alexander Zverev has been through an emotional rollercoaster in 2025.

He commenced the year by reaching his first Australian Open final, where he took on defending champion Jannik Sinner.

The German was confident he could finally win his first Grand Slam, but Sinner dispatched Zverev 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 to claim the third of his four majors.

Since that crushing defeat Zverev’s consistency on court has wavered and he has become very open and honest about his mental state over the past few months.

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Alexander Zverev said ‘he had no idea’ how Jannik Sinner did everything so well during their Australian Open final

Alexander Zverev has won four of his seven meetings against Sinner. But the Italian has won the last two matches, including January’s Australian Open final.

Zverev battled hard, but Sinner controlled proceedings and cruised to a second successive title at Melbourne Park.

The world number three has struggled to come to terms with this defeat and how well Sinner played, which has impacted his results ever since.

During a guest appearance on the Nothing Major podcast, Zverev opened up on how he suffered mentally following that match in which Sinner left him completely dumbfounded with his level of play.

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“Terrible year. A lot of the times I have felt quite lost on the court this year, especially after the Australian Open final where I had another Grand Slam final,” Zverev said.

“I went into the match believing I am going to win this. This is my third final, I am going to win it.

“I was going into the match feeling so confident and then in that match I got smoked. He was doing everything better than me at that moment.

“I was serving better than him, but apart from the serve he literally did everything better than me. I came off the court and I was like wow. I just have no idea. I just didn’t know what the hell to do. I kind of had a really tough time mentally after that match.”

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Alexander Zverev says he made a ‘mistake’ after the Australian Open final

Following his run to the Australian Open final, Zverev flew to South America to take part in February’s clay court swing.

The Argentina Open began less than three weeks after he lost to Sinner in Melbourne, and Zverev played in Brazil and Mexico after competing in Buenos Aires. He won a combined total of just four matches and failed to progress beyond the quarterfinals at any of the three tournaments.

Reflecting on the decision to play in South America, Zverev believes he should have taken more time to rest. “Instead of going home and resting, kind of realising what happened and working through it, I went home and spent three days at home and went straight to Argentina,” Zverev explained.

“After playing a Grand Slam final I had the most amazing time in Argentina outside the court, but on the court I was like I am playing on clay in South America, a few days after a Grand Slam final, I am playing terribly and my motivation is not the same.

“I should not have done that looking back. Even though it’s nothing to do with the country or place, I would visit it again, but playing a tournament straight after was a mistake. Then I kind of had a little bit of a burnout for a couple of months.

“I was not feeling very motivated to play. I was not feeling very motivated to practice. I was not enjoying my time on the court. I was losing a lot of quite bad matches, I was losing from winning positions or to players who I should not lose to.

“I paid the price but you live and you learn and I do believe that Wimbledon first round exit was not a great thing for me, but I think I made the best out of it. I have pulled out of a few tournaments now, taken some time off and I do feel fresher in my mind to compete again.

“Maybe I am not going to play my best tennis here in Canada or Cincinnati but I think by the time the US Open comes I am going to be a contender again, and that’s where I want to be.”

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