Alexander Zverev's journey to Australian Open 2025 final

Will Zverev emulate Boris Becker’s 1996 Melbourne title run?

Since 2020, Alexander Zverev has made the finals at Grand Slams twice and the semi-finals seven times at three of the four majors. Zverev will be confident of his chances in his first Australian Open final, having dropped just two sets in six matches.

While the German will have to go the extra mile if he is to stop Jannik Sinner from winning the season’s opening Slam, he can draw hope from their past encounters. Zverev has a 4-2 head-to-head lead over the Italian, including two hard-court wins at the US Open (2021, 2023).

The 27-year-old, Zverev, has also won 16 of 17 matches going back to his title run at the Paris Masters in November. Sinner is on a 20-match winning streak since the 2024 Shanghai Masters in September. The 23-year-old Sinner bids to become the first Italian to win three major singles titles. 

Zverev is playing his first Australian Open final and will look to make it count. He came agonisingly close to winning the French Open title last season but fell short against Carlos Alcaraz despite leading two sets to one.

Lucas Pouille – First Round

Zverev began his AO 2025 campaign against French wildcard Lucas Pouille. It was a comfortable straight-set win for Zverev, wrapping up the business for the day, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 against the 30-year-old Frenchman. The World No. #2 advanced into the second round after two hours and 20 minutes in the pair’s first head-to-head meeting.

Pedro Martinez – Second Round

Zverev put on another clinical display against Pedro Martinez to take a 2-0 lead in their tour-level meetings. He quelled the Marinez challenge with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 in just under two hours. Apart from a brief attempted comeback by the Spaniard, Zverev was untroubled as he eased into a third-round match against Jacob Fearnley.

Also Read: Jannik Sinner vs Alexander Zverev prediction, betting tips & odds, head-to-head, preview: Australian Open 2025

Jacob Fearnley – Third Round

Zverev maintained his dominant run at the Australian Open with a third consecutive straight sets win over Jacob Fearnley. The ATP No. #2 eased past Fearnly, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to set up a showdown with Ugo Humbert. While Zverev maintained his perfect set record, he lost serve for the first time in the tournament. On losing serve once each in the second and third sets, the German immediately broke back to take over the lead.

Ugo Humbert – Fourth Round

Fourteenth seed Ugo Humbert was the first seeded player Zverev ran into during the Australian Open fortnight. It was a 26th consecutive win against left-handers after defeating Humbert 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals.

The four-set win over the Frenchman ushered Zverev into his 14th Grand Slam quarter-final. Zverev prevailed over Humbert for the third successive time in their first Grand Slam meeting.

Tommy Paul – Quarter-finals

Zverev was out of sorts in the last eight against Tommy Paul but managed to pull through after dealing with tiebreaks in the first two sets. The German took his time warming up against the American, but ultimately prevailed, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (0), 2-6, 6-1, after three hours and 22 minutes. It was also the first career win for Zverev over Paul in three head-to-head meetings.

Novak Djokovic – Semi-finals

After spending 3 hours and 30 minutes against Tommy Paul in the last eight, Zverev would have been expecting a tough contest against Novak Djokovic. Instead, the Serb threw in the towel after losing the first set. A muscle tear being the cause of the retirement in Friday’s semi-final after spending 80 minutes on court.

It was the only one of their 13 tour-level meetings to end in a retirement. The 10-time champion walked over to Zverev to shake his hand, signalling the end of the match, giving the German his first Australian Open final.

Also Read: Jannik Sinner vs Alexander Zverev head-to-head record

Final: Jannik Sinner (TBP)

Jannik Sinner is looking to defend his title and become the second youngest to accomplish this milestone at the Melbourne Park but must overcome Alexander Zverev in the finale, against whom the 23-year-old has an unfavourable head-to-head.

The German heads into this contest after winning the first and only set against an injured Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. An enthralling battle between two highly talented youngsters is on the cards in the finale of the men’s singles final of the Australian Open.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram