Alexander Zverev following Madrid final defeat: 'There's a big gap between Jannik Sinner & everyone else'

Match Reaction

Zverev following Madrid final defeat: 'There's a big gap between Sinner & everyone else'

German was competing in fourth Madrid final

Getty Images

Alexander Zverev and Jannik Sinner following the Madrid final. By Sam Jacot

Jannik Sinner has consistently had Alexander Zverev’s number in recent months, beating the German in semi-finals at ATP Masters 1000 events in Paris, Indian Wells, Miami, and Monte-Carlo. And in the Mutua Madrid Open final, the pattern continued, with the Italian cruising to the title, dropping just three games.

But while the matchup has looked increasingly one-sided, Zverev insisted Sunday’s defeat was less about Sinner’s dominance and more about his own level, admitting he would have lost to anyone on Tour playing the way he did.

“He's very good, of course. But I think today I would have lost to anybody, to be very fair. I think today I played an awful tennis match,” Zverev said after Sinner triumphed 6-1, 6-2.

The German dropped just two sets en route to his fourth Madrid final and earned dominant straight-set victories against Flavio Cobolli and Alexander Blockx in the two matches leading up to the title showdown.

However, the World No. 3 was once again unable to have the answers against Sinner and now trails the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings 4-10 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series, not winning a set in the past six meetings.

“I think everybody's struggling against him,” Zverev said of Sinner. “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. Today doesn't make sense to talk much about strategy, it was absolutely a terrible match by me. I don't think there's much strategy involved.”

Read more from Madrid

Sinner storms past Zverev for Madrid crown

Sinner levels with Alcaraz in Big Titles count

Sinner first player to win five consecutive M1000 titles

Sinner is the first player in series history (since 1990) to win five consecutive Masters 1000 titles and has lost just two sets across those events, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. Zverev believes the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings is by far and away the best player in the world right now.

“I think he's very stable,” Zverev said. “He doesn't have dips, he doesn't have phases where he goes down. I think that's why he's world No. 1. To me, that's more spectacular, I think, keeping the level the whole time.

“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 are two gaps right now. It's difficult to say that there's not a gap between Sinner and everybody else if he hasn't lost a match in Masters events since Shanghai.”

Zverev, a seven-time Masters 1000 champion and two-time winner in Madrid, will next compete in Rome.

Click here to read article