Alexander Zverev will hope his first match of 2026 will set the tone for the rest of his season.
The German, by his usual high standards, endured a disappointing 2025 season and recently made unwanted tennis history.
Zverev has the talent to win a Grand Slam in 2026, and his first performance of the year will certainly give his fans hope for the future.
The German comfortably defeated Tallon Griekspoor 7-5, 6-0, securing Germany’s 2-0 victory over The Netherlands following Eva Lys’ earlier victory against Suzan Lamens.
Who will be the United Cup MVP? Anyone else? Let us know in the comments
After the match, Zverev reflected on his own performance.
Alexander Zverev said his return shot made the difference in his United Cup win
During Germany’s post-match press conference in Australia, one reporter asked Zverev: “Sascha, the difference in the two sets, what clicked in the second after that tight first set?
“Do you think it was a case of maybe he was a little bit demoralized after losing a close set or…”
Zverev responded: “He maybe served a little bit worse. But I started returning. I don’t think I made a return in the first five service games on his serve, to be honest. It was about getting into the rallies.
“I don’t think we played one rally in the first 10 games.
“I mean, I know him. I know how he plays. I know his tactics. Always very aggressive to not let me play a lot of balls. But then once I started returning better, started getting into the rallies a bit better, it obviously helped.
“I feel like I did that much, much better in the second set.”
After defeating Griekspoor, Zverev paired with Laura Siegemund to defeat Demi Schuurs and Griekspoor in the mixed doubles rubber.
With such strong singles and doubles players at their disposal, Germany are surely one of the hot favourites to win the United Cup title in Australia.
However, Germany’s next match in Sydney will certainly test their title-winning credentials.
What is your bold prediction for the 2026 tennis season?
Germany face Poland in their next United Cup match
Germany will have to raise their game if they are to defeat Poland in their next United Cup match.
Poland boast six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek and former world number six Hubert Hurkacz.
Poland are two-time United Cup finalists, having reached the final stage in 2024 and 2025. The Polish team lost to Zverev’s Germany team in 2024 and the United States in 2025.
After losing the 2025 final, Swiatek told reporters: “And I’m for sure happy, because, you know, I played some heavy hitters as well this week and also some girls that played tough. I was able to play against both really great tennis.
“For sure today I wasn’t able to give 100 per cent. Coco [Gauff] also played amazing, you know, and she’s for sure improving. But overall I’m really happy with the week. I feel like things I worked on really improved.
“But on the other hand, like, you know, this week, Australian Open is a different story, so still I’m gonna do everything step by step and continue the work that I have been doing.”
