Alexander Zverev entered the 2025 Australian Open final with genuine belief that this would be his breakthrough moment. Instead, he walked away from Melbourne questioning everything about his game. The German’s candid admission on the Nothing Major Show reveals just how deeply Jannik Sinner’s dominant victory shook his confidence and left him searching for answers across an entire season.
What Went Wrong for Alexander Zverev in the 2025 Australian Open Final Against Jannik Sinner?
John Isner, one of the four hosts of Nothing Major Show, asked Zverev for his opinions on how he would assess his 2025 season so far. Isner acknowledged the German reaching the final in Australia and winning Munich (2025 BMW Open), but wanted to know how Zverev himself felt about his performances so far this year.
Zverev’s response was brutally honest: “Terrible year.” He continued, “A lot of times I felt quite lost on the court this year, especially after the Australian Open final where I’ve had another Grand Slam final. I actually went into the match believing like ‘I’m going to win this. This is my third final. I’m going to win it,’ because the other two finals I lost in five sets. I had a lot of chances.”
The weight of his previous near-misses had actually fueled his confidence heading into Melbourne. He then talked about the challenge when playing against Carlos Alcaraz: “I lost to Carlos the year before at the French Open which for me is one of the toughest challenges playing Carlos on play right now.”
However, reality hit hard once the match began. Zverev shifted back to the Australian Open final and said: “So I was going into the match, like I was feeling so confident, and then in that match I got ‘smoked.’ Like, he was doing everything better than me at that moment. Like I was serving better than him, but apart from the serve, he was doing everything better than me.”
How Has Zverev Struggled Since That Australian Open Final Loss?
The numbers from Melbourne tell the story of complete dominance by Sinner. The Italian defeated Zverev 6-3, 7-6, 6-3, never allowing a break point while facing ten against him and saving eight of those chances. Zverev managed 12 aces but also committed 45 unforced errors, particularly from the forehand side. His forehand, which had troubled him late in his semi-final win over Novak Djokovic, broke down early again under Sinner’s relentless targeting.
The aftermath proved even more challenging than the defeat itself. While Zverev performed well on clay courts, winning the 2025 BMW Open and reaching the quarter-finals of Roland Garros, where he lost to Djokovic, his struggles became evident on other surfaces. The most shocking moment came at Wimbledon, where he was knocked out in the first round despite being the third seed.
Zverev lost against Arthur Rinderknech in an intense five-set match and admitted to feeling “very alone out there at times. ” He acknowledged that he had been struggling mentally since his Australian Open final loss to Sinner and that Melbourne defeat’s mental toll had extended far beyond a single match.
Seeking to rebuild his confidence, Zverev recently spent ten days at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca. Under Toni Nadal’s guidance, he participated in intense training blocks designed to sharpen his aggression and mental resilience. Zverev described dinners with Rafael Nadal, during which the 22-time Grand Slam champion urged him to maintain an aggressive mindset and reminded him of his Grand Slam potential.
While Toni Nadal is “a very busy man,” Zverev remains hopeful this collaboration will deepen. He believes the lessons learned in Mallorca could be the key to finally breaking his Grand Slam drought and recovering from the psychological damage inflicted by that devastating loss to Sinner.
