'I hope to spoil their party': Alexander Zverev still aims to break Sinner and Alcaraz dominance

Alexander Zverev holds onto the hope of challenging Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner at the top of the Tour and ending their dominance of the last couple of seasons. The German – currently World No. 3 – is still searching for his first Grand Slam title after three lost finals.

Despite an inconsistent year, Zverev has managed to stay in the top 3 for virtually the entire last year. Since 2017, his only exit from the top 10 was during a six-month injury layoff, following his memorable semifinal elimination at the French Open while playing an epic match against Rafael Nadal – the eventual champion.

Zverev returned re-energized, and after a few months of adjustment in 2023, he made his comeback to the top 10 by September of that year. Since then, he's been one of the protagonists, often appearing to be the one poised to challenge Sinner and Alcaraz head-on. He reached the finals of the 2024 Roland Garros against the Spaniard and the 2025 Australian Open against the Italian.

'Sascha' even had the opportunity to reach World No. 1 after his campaign in Melbourne. Sinner's three-month suspension provided a significant window to close the wide gap, especially considering four Masters 1000 events were played while Sinner was off the courts. However, Zverev couldn't maintain the good results.

"Maybe it hasn’t been my best year, but I don’t think I’m as far away as some people may think,” Zverev mentioned in a recent interview with Tennis365. “At the moment, Carlos is the kind of the star boy now. He just brings great energy to the court and along with Jannik, they are the players to beat. I just hope to spoil their party a little bit and I think I can do that.”

Zverev dropped from World No. 3 a few weeks ago, displaced by Alcaraz when he was crowned champion of the Rome Open, just before the start of the French Open. “Carlos is a great guy. He is fun to be around and he always has a smile on his face. If he can avoid any controversies, he is going to be very, very loved by tennis fans.”

Zverev is already 28 years old, still an age where he can play at his best level. The seven-time Masters 1000 champion is taking a couple of weeks off from competition and will return on July 28th at the Canadian Open, to be played this year in Toronto, where Zverev already knows what it's like to win the title, having defeated Roger Federer in the 2017 final in straight sets.