Alexander Zverev has shared his thoughts on the current hierarchy on the ATP Tour, making a bold claim about Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. The German delivered his verdict after facing Sinner in the Madrid Open final, where the world No. 1 secured a clinical 6-1, 6-2 victory in 57 minutes.
Why Alexander Zverev Refuses to Place Carlos Alcaraz in the Same Bracket as Jannik Sinner
During his post-match press conference, Alexander Zverev was asked whether a clear divide exists between Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and the rest of the field. The world No. 3 rejected that notion, denying Alcaraz a spot at the top and declaring that Sinner is in a league of his own.
Despite Alcaraz’s Australian Open triumph in January and his overall Grand Slam success, Zverev ranked the Spaniard alongside himself and Novak Djokovic.
“Well, I think there’s a big gap between Sinner and everybody else right now. It’s quite simple. I think there’s a big gap between Sinner and everybody else. And I think there’s a big gap between Alcaraz, myself, maybe Novak, and everybody else. I think there’s two gaps right now,” Zverev said.
To support his view, Zverev cited the world No. 1’s remarkable achievement of becoming the first player in history to win five consecutive ATP Masters 1000 titles.
“It’s difficult to say that there’s not a gap between Sinner and everybody else if he hasn’t lost a match in how many Masters events? Since Shanghai. He hasn’t lost a match in almost 9 months,” he added. “I think you have to admit that there’s a gap between him and everybody else.”
Having lost nine straight matches against Sinner, the 29-year-old was also asked about his struggle to develop an effective strategy against the four-time Grand Slam champion. However, Zverev argued that every player has been losing to the Italian and suggested that his poor head-to-head record simply reflects how often they meet.
“Well, to be honest, I think everybody’s struggling against him. He’s won the last five Masters events, so it’s not like I’m the only one losing to him. I’m just losing to him more because I get to him every single time and I lose to him. So, it’s like that. I mean, today doesn’t make sense to talk much about strategy. It was an absolutely terrible match by me. And, I don’t think there is much strategy involved,” he said.
With the Italian Open just around the corner, Alexander Zverev will need to move on quickly from his crushing loss to Jannik Sinner. The German will turn his focus to making another deep run at the Masters 1000 event in Rome as he builds momentum ahead of the French Open.
