Andrea Petkovic thought Alexander Zverev looked "utterly crushed" following his Australian Open final defeat but the former German tennis star understood it because she felt his game was better than ever and he still failed to land a Grand Slam.
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After falling short in two Australian Open semifinals in the past, the 27-year-old made his big breakthrough at Melbourne Park this year and reached his first final.
There, No. 1 seed and defending champion Jannik Sinner was waiting for him.
And although Zverev was playing some of his best tennis and feeling confident, he was completely outplayed by the Italian, who won 6-3 7-6 (4) 6-3.
After falling to a 0-3 record in his Grand Slams, the German had a pretty blank and numb face for the majority of the ceremony so it wasn't hard to figure out how heartbroken he was.
"You couldnt help but feel for the guy. He looked absolutely and utterly crushed," Petkovic wrote on her Substack.
Petkovic: Zverev made the biggest progress in his tennis, yet it wasn't enough
Throughout the tournament, the 2014 French Open semifinalist was noticing signs of progression in the 27-year-old's game.
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And the world No. 2 himself was probably feeling great about his chances but then he ended up losing in straight sets.
"Although this time on paper he looked the furthest away, I actually thought in his tennis he had made the biggest progress," Petkovic added.
"He hit the ball bigger than he had all tournament long, 10 km/h faster in fact, he stood closer to the baseline. He made 81% first serves in the first set. And yet. It wasnt enough."
In the past, Zverev blew a two-set lead in the 2020 US Open final to Dominic Thiem.
Last year, the German was up by two sets to one against Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final but didn't have enough to finish the job as the Spaniard came back to win 6-3 2-6 5-7 6-1 6-2.
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After losing to Sinner, the 27-year-oldadmitted that he did not want to go down as "one of the greatest without a Grand Slam title."
