Alexander Zverev played the Davis Cup Finals in Bologna as the last official event of his season, failing to drag Germany into the final despite winning both of his singles matches played (respectively against Francisco Cerundolo in the tie against Argentina and against Jaume Munar in the tie against Spain).
The former world No. 2 has never been a fan of the new format of this competition and has criticized this reform several times, but he agreed to participate this year wanting to help his teammates achieve a triumph that was not so unlikely. On the eve of the 'Final 8' in Bologna, Germany was considered by many experts to be the top favourites to win considering that Italy and Spain did not have their best players. Sascha was the only Top 10 player present in Bologna, while the top two players in the ATP rankings Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner were missing.
Sascha has to solve a problem
The German star struggled more than expected to beat Munar on Saturday and needed two tiebreaks to avoid another disappointment within a fairly disappointing 2025.
During his press conference, the Spanish player confided that he knew his rival's current weakness very well: Sascha, of course, is a very, very top player. At the end of the year everybody is saying that he did not play the best tennis during the year. But hes 4 or 3 in the world right now, so imagine.
It was close today because everything is close. Lets put in another side, maybe Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. All of the rest, I think we are playing face to face anyone. Of course, he can struggle a little bit with the forehand sometimes. He can be a little passive. But he has an incredible weapon, which is the serve.
The player from Hamburg has lifted only one trophy this year, on the red clay of Munich, far too little for his initial ambitions (which included the assault on a Grand Slam title).
