Tennis, as an individual sport, might be cruel at times! Why? Ask Sascha. Despite winning 23 ATP tour titles till now, Alexander Zverev still doesn’t have a Grand Slam title in his trophy cabinet. Has he reached his peak yet? Of course, he has! Featuring in the final of two major Grand Slams is no joke, is it? Despite the prolonged absence of Grand Slam titles in his trophy collection, a former professional tennis player has expressed his belief in Zverev’s potential to secure a title this time at the Australian Open final.

Despite making a professional debut in August 2013, at just 16, the Hamburg native never quite achieved his dream of winning a single Grand Slam yet. His breakthrough? Well, at the 2014 Braunschweig Challenger, where his hefty first serves and blistering two-handed backhand helped him earn his first ATP title in front of a packed crowd. And since then, the German has come a long way, achieving 23 tour-level titles, including a Gold Medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Currently sitting at rank 2, the German has already played two major Slam finals till now, at the 2020 US Open and 2024 French Open, however, he faced losses both times. 

However, given his form this time around, former American tennis pro Steve Johnson shared his remarks, backing Zverev for the AO triumph. Just before the day of a Happy Slam final, Steve was on the ‘Nothing Major‘ podcast, where he was asked about choosing a winner between Sascha and Sinner. Well, he said, “I am gonna stick with that prediction to say Sascha gets it done.” Not only that, but he also compared Sascha with former greats of the sport.

“He is arguably one of the best players to not have won a slam. Definitely active for sure, I am like the Berdych, Ferrers, some of those guys like Nishikori, guys that haven’t won a slam but I think he gets it done and yeah, I am excited to watch the match,” Johnson remarked.

Often winning hearts with his honesty and in-court hilarious interviews, Sascha is definitely in with a chance this time around, considering the fact that he spent less time on the center court in yesterday’s SF clash. Likewise, his head-to-head record against Jannik Sinner on hard courts also gives him an upper hand.

‘play a far more structured match to beat Jannik Sinner’ Jim Courier’s advice for Alexander Zverev before the AO Final

Despite a French Open finals loss in 2024, Alexander Zverev was quite dominant last year. He won 2 ATP Masters 1000 titles, in Rome and Paris. And, continuing his form in 2025, he only lost 2 sets in the ongoing AO as he reached his third GS final after Novak Djokovic withdrew mid-way through the semis.

And his final opponent? Jannik Sinner, a somewhat familiar face, especially on hard courts. Surprisingly enough, Sascha holds a firm advantage over the Italian in their H2H contest. The duo has met 4 times on the hard court and twice on clay and Zverev is leading so far, winning 4-2 (3-1 on hard court).

However, their recent face-off was in the 2024 Cincinnati Open where the Italian beat the German in a closely contested match 7-6 (9), 5-7, 7-6(4). Despite Sinner’s breakthrough year in 2024 where he won 2 Grand Slams, former pro Jim Courier is backing Zverev over Sinner for this AO final.

Courier recently shared his views over Sascha’s gameplay, saying “I thought he played a very conservative match today, perhaps intentionally against Novak who was struggling. He will have to play a far more structured match to beat Jannik Sinner. He will not be able to play conservative tennis and win. Roger Federer rightly said last year, Sascha has everything but one thing he needs to do in the big moments is to be more decisive.”

As the stage is now set for this year’s AO final, do you think Sascha will finally achieve his dream of winning a slam? Or like last season, Sinner will once again win the AO? Share your thoughts below!