US Open: Alexander Zverev makes comment about outperforming Alcaraz & Sinner at Grand Slams

Ewan West 13 Sep 2026 5:35 PM

Alexander Zverev with insets of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz

Alexander Zverev is through to his third consecutive Grand Slam final at the 2026 US Open, and he has made a telling comment about his belief prior to this season.

The world No 2, who is the top seed at the US Open, will face ninth-ranked Ben Shelton in the title match at the New York major.

Zverev was a runner-up to Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon in July after he captured his maiden Grand Slam title at the 2026 French Open.

If Zverev claims his maiden US Open crown, he will have won more major titles than both Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in 2026.

That is an outcome few would have predicted after Sinner and Alcaraz won two Slams each in both 2025 and 2024.

Alcaraz missed both the French Open and Wimbledon this year due to a wrist injury, while a knee problem forced Sinner out of the US Open.

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Following his US Open semi-final win against Karen Khachanov, Zverev said: “Sometimes things go your way. I feel like I’ve had a little struggle at the major level.

“I was so close so many times, and maybe this year God has said: this is going to be your year and enjoy your time on the court.

“I’m enjoying it and playing these big finals. I can’t wait for Sunday.”

In his post-match press conference, Zverev was asked if he thought it would be possible to win more Grand Slam titles than Alcaraz and Sinner this season.

“I thought it’s possible. I believed in it, I believed that it’s possible. I think not many of you guys did (laughs),” said the German.

“The question was always, is Carlos and Jannik going to play all four Grand Slam finals between each other again?

“Yeah, of course, a very legit question with how the last two years went. I mean, I’m happy with how this year went so far. But I got another big match on Sunday.”

The 29-year-old was also asked if his painful defeat to Dominic Thiem in the 2020 US Open final left scar tissue.

“It did, until I won [the French Open] in Paris,” Zverev replied.

“I think there were question marks, there were doubts whether I was ever gonna win one, for sure. But now that I’ve won one, it’s okay.”