Australian Open: Alexander Zverev loses to defending champion Jannik Sinner

Alexander Zverev described himself as “quite down” and “quite emotional” after once again coming within one win of earning his first Grand Slam title.

And unlike his first two defeats in major finals — both of which he led, and both of which went five sets — Zverev did not come close to reaching the finish line Sunday in the Australian Open final, which ended with defending champion Jannik Sinner holding the trophy after his 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory.

“I’m doing everything I can,” said Zverev, a 27-year-old from Germany who is ranked No. 2 but did not seem anywhere near No. 1 Sinner on this occasion. “I’m working as hard as I ever did. I think I’m doing all the right things off-court. I think I’m practicing the right things. But I lost in straight sets today. I mean, those are facts. That is a fact. I lost to Jannik in straight sets today.”

“I mean, I don’t want to end my career as the best player of all time to never win a Grand Slam, that’s for sure,” added Zverev, whose post-match speech was interrupted by someone in Rod Laver Arena calling out the names of two women who have accused him of physical abuse in the past.

“I’ll keep doing everything I can to lift one of those trophies.”

He is the seventh man in the Open era, which dates to 1968, to start a career with an 0-3 record in title matches at one of the sport’s four most important events.

Five of the other six went on to win at least one major championship. The only member of the group who hasn’t is Casper Ruud, who is also the only one still active.

[Read more: Australian Open: Madison Keys upsets defending champ Aryna Sabaleka in women’s final]

Sinner offered support to Zverev during the trophy ceremony Sunday. That came in the form of an arm around the shoulder — and with his words.

“Keep believing in yourself,” Sinner told Zverev. “Keep working hard, because we all believe that you can lift one of these very, very soon.”

Simone Vagnozzi, one of Sinner’s coaches, said about Zverev: “I really hope, sooner or later, he wins a Slam, because he deserves it.”

Zverev’s previous trips to the brink of achieving what he very badly wants came at the 2020 U.S. Open, where he built a two-set lead and even held a match point against Dominic Thiem, and at the 2024 French Open, where he led Carlos Alcaraz two sets to one before letting that slip away.

This one never got to that sort of stage, and Zverev frequently showed his frustration by cracking rackets.

The nearest Zverev came to really making it close was when he was two points from taking the second set, but Sinner took the next four points — and that, basically, was that.

“That was a massive point. I think whoever wins that set, kind of can get a little bit of momentum,” Zverev said. “Being down two sets to love, especially, then his confidence goes up, mine goes down. It’s a long way back then against someone like Jannik. If it’s one set all, maybe I have a chance. But … I didn’t stop fighting. I didn’t stop believing. Then, in the third set, I thought he outplayed me more than in the other sets.”

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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