Alexander Zverev admitted Jannik Sinner was the better player in the Australian Open final, a marked change from previously being accused of making up excuses. Sinner won his second successive title Down Under by seeing off the second seed 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 on Sunday (January 26).
It was an emphatic display from the World No. 1, who became only the third player ever to win a Grand Slam final without facing a single break point. After the match, he could be seen commiserating a crestfallen Zverev, who has now lost three major finals.
However, there was a time when the pair did not see eye-to-eye. Their exchange during the trophy awarding ceremony spoke volumes of how both players have evolved over the last few years.
After the match, Zverev admitted: “Jannik is better than me at the moment. It’s as simple as that. I think I serve better than Jannik, and everything else he does better. At the end of the day, he deserves to win. He’s the best player on hardcourts right now.
“I didn’t stop fighting, I didn’t stop believing, but then in the third set I thought he outplayed me more than in the other sets. Jannik, you are the best player in the world by far. I wanted to be more competitive but you are just too good… I’m just not good enough.”
Sinner was seen comforting the visibly emotional German as they waited to collect their respective trophies. Tennis fans would not have envisaged this manifesting itself after their war of words in 2020.
At that year’s French Open, Zverev, now 27, was knocked out in the fourth round by Sinner, who was only 19 years old at the time. Unhappy with the result, he said he was feeling unwell before the match and believed it may have been the difference between winning and losing.
At the time, an unimpressed Sinner told Corriere: “I respect him a lot because he’s won more than me, he’s got more experience on the circuit, and he’s a great player. However, I do not respect his statements after his defeat to me at Roland Garros.
“He contradicted himself a lot. He said he had a fever, but in the third and fourth sets, he ran more than me. It seems to me that he was looking for an excuse after his defeat. [Roger] Federer or [Rafael] Nadal, for example, would never have said such things.”
Since Sinner’s victory at the 2020 French Open, the picture has changed drastically. The Italian is the top dog having won two Australian Opens and the US Open over the last year.
Meanwhile, Zverev, instead of claiming an illness or injury scuppered his chances against Sinner, offered no excuses or explanation for his loss this time around, honestly admitting he was second-best.
