Alexander Zverev has been playing at the highest level for many years and has won numerous important titles, but he has always lacked the definitive step to make history.
Ever since he took his first steps on the professional tour, most coaches and insiders were convinced that Sascha would not take long to win his first Grand Slam title.
The German ace has played several finals in Major tournaments (one at the Australian Open, one at Roland Garros and one at the US Open), but has always been defeated. The champion from Hamburg seemed ready to finally break this curse at the beginning of 2025, when he reached the last act in Melbourne with huge authority, but his dreams were shattered in front of former world number 1 Jannik Sinner who demolished him on the iconic Rod Laver Arena.
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The former world number 2 has repeatedly repeated that that loss had a really negative impact on his mental toughness and the performances he unleashed in the following months were the confirmation of this feeling.
Sascha is still criticized
Alexanderfinished the year with only one title won, the Munich ATP 250, as well as having disappointed expectations in the other three Slams and also at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. The collective feeling is that 2026 will be a decisive year for his future, as the dominance of Carlitos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner shows no sign of subsiding.
On the latest edition of his famous podcast, former world No.1 Andy Roddick highlighted how Sascha deserves more respect: "I'm sorry that his entire career will only be judged in relation to Grand Slam tournaments. He is an extraordinary player, who has already had an incredible career and can still improve. People make a lot of judgments about his game, but maybe they don't understand that it's not that simple. His backhand is really great, while his forehand and net game can be improved."
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Zverev will have to defend several points already in Australia next month.
