Alexander Zverev finds himself in a truly unique position ahead of today’s Wimbledon final.
After all, despite having made it to this stage of arguably the biggest event in the sport’s history, it feels like there is no pressure on him to win.
Jannik Sinner, his opponent, is so overwhelmingly the favourite that even a short straight-sets result would result in little backlash for the German.
Few expected he would get this far, and given he won Roland Garros just last month to finally claim a major title, there is no more desperate scramble for glory.
Who will win the Wimbledon final? Jannik Sinner or Alexander Zverev
The top two seeds collide!
This does not mean his chances of success should be dismissed though.
After all, whilst Jim Courier listed a hugely damning statistic ahead of the Wimbledon final, he also highlighted some crucial changes Alexander Zverev has made which could make him a problem for Sinner.
Jim Courier and Martina Navratilova highlight Alexander Zverev’s crucial changes
Chatting on Tennis Channel, he began with a refresher on Zverev’s painful head-to-head record against the world number one.
Courier claimed: “One of the problems for Zverev in the match is not just this year that he’s played four matches against Sinner. Even going back last year, he has to go back seven matches to the last time he’s broken serve against Jannik Sinner. Vienna last year, seven matches ago.
“So, how does he need to do that? He needs to be aggressive on the second serve returns. This is the break points. He’s only generated three break points in four matches this season. Sinner, it was crazy. 65 straight service games. It was first set of Vienna, back in the fall of 2025.
“And there’s not going to be a lot that you can do as far as attacking the first serve of Jannik Sinner. Sinner makes about 65% first serves in play or so right now, on those 35% second serves, what I liked was I saw some real aggression against Arthur Fery. Now, granted, Fery’s second serve doesn’t have the weight or the speed that Jannik’s does, but you’ve got to take chances, I think, if you’re Zverev in those situations tomorrow.”
Then, focusing on his forehand, he added: “Well, he’s been working on his forehand for the last year, and he’s been implementing it.
“We’ve seen his average speed on that forehand climb over the last year, and when he’s been in comfortable spots in the matches, not break point down, but 40-15, 30-all on an opponent’s serve, he’s been willing to hit it down the line more often, and even some of those inside-out forehands.”
This provoked Navratilova to offer her insight into a handful of areas where she thinks Zverev has improved.
She argued: “Yeah, he’s much more aggressive with his position, getting inside the court moving forward better. Moving better to the low balls, slice has gotten a lot better. He’s even added a drop shot, and he’s so much better at the net. I mean, he was, like, allergic to the net. Now, he’s moving forward by choice.”
Caroline Wozniacki has also stated what she’s expecting from Zverev in this final as well, touching similar ground to Navratilova and Courier.
Jannik Sinner is well aware of Alexander Zverev’s threat
Speaking ahead of their final, Sinner was candid in his assessment of the match.
And, he seems acutely aware of how this new-look Zverev could pose him problems.
He admitted: “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.
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”He is a tough player to play against. He was before, but now even more. He’s very relaxed on court at the moment.
“I will try to do the best I can but it’s going to be very, very tough – very different than all the other matches we have played.”
Zverev has been told exactly how he can ‘steal’ the Wimbledon title from Sinner, so it will be interesting to see exactly how he goes out to tackle today’s mouth-watering match-up.
