Alexander Zverev is the world number 2, but he is considered by bookmakers as the fourth favorite to win the 2025 Australian Open. The German champion is behind Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, who is in the latter part of his career but has won this tournament ten times.
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Sascha who was very consistent last season and won two Masters 1000 does not fully convince fans and insiders due to the fact that he has never yet won a Major title. The world No. 2 has often made it to the decisive rounds of the four biggest tournaments on the calendar and has reached two finals at the 2020 US Open and the 2024 French Open, respectively but has never been able to take the final step.
It's no secret that Alexander struggles a lot to handle pressure and nerves in the decisive stages of Grand Slam tournaments, a feeling that has been very evident in 2024 as well. Zverev reached the final at the French Open and the semifinals at the Australian Open, but he lacked something mentally.
One of his biggest regrets is the US Open, in which he was unable to take advantage of the premature eliminations of Djokovic and Alcaraz being eliminated by Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals.
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Sascha seems ready
The player from Hamburg understood that he has to change something to win a Major title and worked very hard both in the latter part of last year and during the off-season. Sascha will make his debut at Melbourne Park tomorrow against Lucas Pouille.
Shortly before the start of the tournament, top coach Patrick Mouratoglou explained what Zverev is still missing in the most prestigious tournaments: "Sascha has a clear attitude problem in the most important tournaments on the calendar. He tends to become too passive from baseline and relies solely on his defensive skills, which are really great, but not enough to win a Major. If he wants to lift a Grand Slam title, he has to learn to control rallies and make a difference in decisive moments."
Mouratoglou continued: "2024 was perhaps the best year of his career in terms of consistency. He started playing much closer to the court, he is braver and hesitates less and less."
