Sinner Goes for Perfect 10 vs Zverev, and Wimbledon Repeat

The burning question ahead of Sunday’s Wimbledon men’s singles final: Can anybody beat Alexander Zverev 10 times in a row?

Jannik Sinner will bid for a 10th consecutive victory over the in-form German on Sunday. If he’s successful, he’ll become just the 10th man to successfully defend the Wimbledon men’s singles title.

It may be Sinner who dominates the rivalry now, but the pair’s interactions had a whole different vibe through 2023. Zvere defeated Sinner in five sets in the round of 16 at the US Open that year, earning his fourth consecutive victory over the Italian and stretching his head-to-head advantage to 4-1.

Did Sinner have a Zverev problem? Hardly.

The Italian simply hadn’t yet developed into the world-beating force he would become over the next three seasons.

Nowadays, it’s Zverev who has a Sinner problem—along with just about everyone else on tour. The German has lost nine consecutive matches to the Italian and has won just two of their last 21 sets.

Sascha, New and Improved?

Perhaps those last two sentences deserve a caveat.

What happened in Paris, where Zverev capitalized on Sinner’s shocking second-round exit and stormed to his first Grand Slam title, appears to have changed everything for the German. He used to be known as the one who couldn’t win the big one – the best player to have never won a Slam.

For the first time in years, Zverev is playing without the burden of chasing that elusive first major, and it shows.

Never considered a natural grass-court force—just ask him, he’ll tell you—the 29-year-old has embraced the surface with newfound confidence. He’s gripping it and ripping it, trusting his breathtaking power and delivering when it matters most. Through six matches at Wimbledon, he has won six of seven tiebreaks while dropping just two sets.

Does that make him the favorite on Sunday? Not at all.

But the possibility of Zverev changing the tone of this rivalry suddenly feels far more realistic, especially after the way he dismantled Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals. He had lost seven straight to the American entering that match and thoroughly dominated him in straight sets (though Fritz was clearly hampered by a knee injury).

Sinner, meanwhile, enters the final riding a 13-match Wimbledon winning streak and sporting a 43-3 record on the season.

Anyone who watched him overwhelm Novak Djokovic on Friday knows exactly what the Italian is capable of.

At the start of the tournament, recent results may have made him appear vulnerable—and, for a brief moment, he was, trailing two sets to one against Miomir Kecmanovic in the opening round. But once he shook off the rust, it became clear that he remains the same player who reeled off 30 consecutive victories earlier this year: an untouchable force atop the rankings whose arsenal seems to grow by the month.

A vastly improved Zverev will look to impose himself with his serve and punishing baseline game. If he maintains the high first-serve percentage that has carried him throughout the fortnight, he’ll give himself every chance to stay close on the scoreboard.

Then comes the real question.

Has the last month changed Zverev enough to overcome the toughest challenge in men’s tennis by excelling in the moments that matter?

Sinner possesses the firepower to match—and perhaps exceed—Zverev’s, and he looks increasingly comfortable moving on grass. The addition of a more confident drop shot also gives him another way to exploit his advantages in movement and variety.

As for the serve, Novak Djokovic—arguably the greatest returner in tennis history—offered glowing praise.

“You cannot attack his first serve. You can try to read it, chip it, block it, get it back in play,” he said. “Very unpredictable serve, great variety, great balance, great pop. He’s using his height extremely well. Also second serve very deep in the box. A lot of rotation. He can go for speed. He doesn’t make many double-faults. He’s just super solid. He backs it up with the first, aggressive shot.

“If you play a shorter return, you’re, again, on your back foot. It’s really, really tough to play him, particularly when he serves.”

If you’re scoring at home, Sinner has won 94 percent of his service games; Zverev has won 95. Sinner has won 85 percent of his first-serve points; Zverev has won 80.

No matter how it’s sliced, Sinner comes in as the favorite. History is on his side, but Sunday’s version of Zverev isn’t the same player that has bullied by Sinner for the last two and a half years. Will that version be good enough to push or even upset the high-flying Italian? Time will tell.

What They’re Saying

Zverev on his improving game:

“Once you win a major you know how to do it and you feel like you can do it again. You have this feeling inside of you. The second thing, I feel like I worked on my game a lot. I feel like my game has improved. Sometimes in sports it’s as simple as that.

“When you improve your forehand, when you improve your backhand, when you improve your serve, when you improve your return, you’re going to win more matches. It’s sometimes as simple as that.”

Sinner on facing Zverev in the final:

“I mean, less exchanges, less rhythm,” he said. “This we know because of the surface being that fast. Being also quite warm, it’s going to be good for a big server. He is definitely a big server.

“But in any case I try to do my best on Sunday. It feels good again being back in a Grand Slam final. It’s good for me. I just try to do my best.

“Whatever happened in the past between me and him, it happened. In between, he won a Grand Slam in Paris, which gave him a lot of confidence. We can see the level he’s producing here.

“We all hope for a good match, and then we see how it goes.”

Key Stat: Zverev

The German is bidding for his first career victory over a World No.1 at a Grand Slam. He has lost his first six such matches, though he owns four career wins over reigning World No.1s across all events.

Key Stat: Sinner

Sinner is bidding for his 100th career Grand Slam match victory. A title would make him the eighth active player to reach 100 Grand Slam wins. The most successful Italian man in history enters Sunday’s final with a 26-4 career record at Wimbledon and is bidding for his fifth major title.