WIMBLEDON, England — Alexander Zverev is used to being the “third guy” in tennis.
After winning the French Open title and reaching his first Wimbledon final, he hopes to do better in the future.
Despite losing to Jannik Sinner on Center Court on Sunday, Zverev, 29, believes he is closer than ever to challenging the top-ranked Italian and arch-rival Carlos Alcaraz to give tennis the big three again.
Sinner and Alcaraz won the last nine Grand Slam titles together before Zverev won his first major at Roland Garros this year.
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“There was always this conversation: Who will be third?” – said Zverev. “I was always the third guy, but I was far away from those two. But in a sense I was always third. So if I get closer to them… that would be great.”
Alcaraz missed this year’s French Open – and Wimbledon – with a wrist injury, while Sinner was eliminated in the second round in Paris after wilting in the heat. Zverev lost in five sets to Alcaraz in the semi-finals of this year’s Australian Open and lost to Sinner 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4 after hyperextending his knee in the third set.
“I think I put pressure on these guys,” Zverev said. “I didn’t beat them this year, but I would say I pushed them to the limit.”
He could have pushed Sinner even further if not for a miss in the third set on Zverev’s only break point of the match. The German fell to the ground and clutched his right knee in pain as Sinner moved in to check on his opponent before helping Zverev off the grass.
Zverev said he overextended his knee after that and it interfered with his serve, his biggest weapon.
“It was difficult for me to push off a little when serving. So my serve rate dropped,” he said. “But other than that everything went well. I moved well from the baseline and played well from the baseline.”
Despite the defeat, Zverev will at least in one respect shed his “third guy” moniker as he overtakes Alcaraz to take second place in the rankings on Monday.
“I think I put pressure on these guys,” Alexander Zverev said after his loss to No. 1 Jannik Sinner in Sunday’s Wimbledon final. “I didn’t beat them this year, but I would say I pushed them to the limit.” Frey/TPN/Getty Images
Zverev had never made it past the fourth round at Wimbledon before this year, but he appears to have finally figured out how to play on grass.
“I’m 29 years old and for the first time I believe I can win this trophy,” Zverev told the crowd on center court after his defeat.
Sinner seems to share this sentiment.
“Today you were so, so close. If you play like this, I am very, very confident that you will get this (trophy) at home too,” Sinner told his opponent. “I know the goal for you is to become number 1 in the world. You’re very, very close. So we need to be very careful now.”