Alexander Zverev, in the eyes of many, is the greatest player to have never won a Grand Slam title.
And whilst that could change before he calls time on his career, the German has had a decidedly luckless time in his efforts to right this wrong.
Having emerged onto the scene during the era of the Big Three, he could be forgiven for failing to unsettle a dominance unlike anything the sport had ever seen.
However, his inability to capitalise after their steady decline will be the true regret he holds, with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner swiftly stepping in to create a new duopoly.
This has once again left Alexander Zverev languishing in the background, yet he remains confident that his time will come.
Alexander Zverev explains why he truly believes he’ll win a Grand Slam title
At the age of 28, though, his window of opportunity is certainly narrowing.
Fortunately, speaking after his latest win in Miami, which propelled him into the semi-finals, Zverev has issued another statement of intent.
Do you really believe that Alexander Zverev can win a Grand Slam title?
Reacting to news that he had just won his 200th match at the Masters 1000 level, he admitted: “This data is not very important, I don’t think it will break records.”
He instead argued: “One of the main things among those that matter to me is to improve my game to win a Grand Slam; that is my main focus, my main goal. I feel that I am capable.
“For example, last year I did not feel like that; there I was playing badly and suffering many injuries. When you play with pain constantly, and you are not free on the court, it becomes much more difficult to get your best tennis. Your confidence goes down, and it is complicated to get out of the situation, especially in difficult times like in the Grand Slams.
“This year I feel different, and I feel that it can happen… and that it will happen”
Zverev was recently told he’d fixed one issue which once cost him a Grand Slam title, but he will need more than just one solution to claim this ultimate prize.
The three Grand Slam finals that Alexander Zverev has lost
What makes Zverev regarded as the best to have never won a major is the fact that he has been to three Grand Slam finals, having lost them all.
However, his consistent quality throughout his career only adds to this notion, having won seven Masters 1000 titles and reached a further seven Grand Slam semi-finals.
His first major final came in 2020 at the US Open. It was also arguably the best chance he will ever have to complete his career-defining feat.
After all, he led Dominic Thiem by two-sets-to-love, yet somehow saw his lead collapse before losing a deciding fifth-set tiebreak.
The 2024 Roland Garros final marked another missed opportunity, as he was once again just one set away from the title.
However, Carlos Alcaraz rallied back from two-sets-to-one down to win.
Most recently, his 2025 Australian Open final against Jannik Sinner was a blowout, with the Italian strolling to a straight-sets victory.
Zverev has recently made huge changes to his game in an effort to make him more of a threat at the Grand Slams. The progress has been instant, and it will be interesting to see whether he delivers on his promise in the coming months.
