After years of near misses, Alexander Zverev has finally won his first major at the 2026 French Open, outlasting Italy’s Flavio Cobolli in a five-set thriller. Yet, even as he celebrated the pinnacle of his career in the French capital, Zverev made a few candid remarks about Jannik Sinner and the rest of the tour, reopening quotes that had drawn backlash from fans and analysts.
Alexander Zverev Makes Honest Jannik Sinner Admission After Not Having to Play Against Him at the French Open
In his recent talk with the ATP Tour, Zverev said, “He’s just the best. I mean, what do you want me to say? He doesn’t let you breathe. He doesn’t let you get into matches. He comes at you very, very quickly.”
“In Madrid, I was still okay; I felt like I was playing well. I feel like I wasn’t playing well against Jannik,” Zverev added.
While he was full of praise for Sinner, he chose to stir the pot again by comparing Sinner to the rest of the tour. His previous claim that there’s a “gap” between Sinner and everybody else, while placing himself alongside Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic just behind the Italian, had faced a lot of backlash.
“I felt good against everybody except Jannik,” Zverev stated. “And that was the story for me throughout the entire year so far… basically one guy on tour, but for me, luckily, I didn’t have to play him here.” At the French Open, Sinner lost to Juan Manuel Cerundolo after getting physically ill in the third set.
After his first-round win, Zverev had appeared on “The MacZone” with John and Patrick McEnroe. When the topic of his recent comments over the ATP Tour came up, he pushed back against critics who misinterpreted his recent claims.
“I got in a lot of trouble when I said I feel like Jannik is the best, and then Carlos, Novak, and I are a step behind. What I meant was, at that moment, that was the truth because Carlos was injured, and Novak hadn’t played since Indian Wells. So that was the case. Career-wise, I’m not saying that I’m there. I don’t compare myself to them; I’m not an idiot,” Zverev explained.
Zverev’s French Open title shed his “best player never to win a major” tag, but his Grand Slam resume and head-to-head records still trail far behind the tour’s elite. Alcaraz, at 23, has already claimed seven majors. Sinner has captured four since 2024, while Djokovic’s 24 Grand Slam titles and 40 Masters 1000 crowns cement him as the statistical GOAT.
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However, the German believes Sinner is his only kryptonite. But he is still eager to face him when the stakes are highest. “It doesn’t mean I don’t want to play him,” Zverev clarified. “I want to play him in the biggest moments and the biggest matches. I hope we’ll play each other in Wimbledon.”
Next up for both is Wimbledon, which begins on June 29, at the historic All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, England.
