Alexander Zverev steps onto Centre Court Sunday with a chance to make history, but standing between him and the Wimbledon title is world number one Jannik Sinner — an opponent who has beaten the German nine straight times and taken the last 14 sets between them.
Zverev arrives at his first-ever Wimbledon final riding a wave of momentum after claiming the French Open crown at Roland Garros. He is the first German man to reach the Wimbledon final since Boris Becker accomplished the feat in 1995.
His path to the Roland Garros title was aided by circumstances — 2025 champion Carlos Alcaraz was sidelined by a wrist injury, and Sinner suffered a shocking second-round exit in the Paris heat. Zverev capitalized, grinding out a tense victory over Italian Flavio Cobolli in the final to snap the Alcaraz-Sinner stranglehold that had produced the previous nine Grand Slam winners.
Wimbledon’s grass courts have historically not been kind to Zverev, but the confidence he carried out of Paris has translated beautifully to London. His second-week performances — victories over Czech player Jiri Lehecka, hard-serving American Taylor Fritz, and British wildcard Arthur Fery in the semifinals — paint the picture of a man playing without hesitation.
“Once you win a major you know how to do it and you feel like you can do it again. You have this feeling inside of you,” Zverev told reporters when asked about heading into the final.
One of the most striking developments during the tournament has been Zverev’s forehand. Once considered a vulnerability in his game, it has become a genuine weapon. In the semifinal against Fery, he produced 22 forehand winners compared to just eight on his trademark backhand.
“I’ve been trying to play a more aggressive game style. I’ve been trying to take on the game a bit more. For sure my forehand is a big part of it,” Zverev explained.
A victory Sunday would make Zverev just the seventh man in tennis history to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same calendar year.
However, Sinner’s semifinal performance served as a sharp reminder of just how formidable the Italian is. He swept seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic aside in straight sets on Friday, delivering 16 aces and surrendering only six points on his first serve throughout the match.
Sinner had entered the tournament under some scrutiny — questions swirled about his ability to handle London’s third heatwave of the summer, given a perceived sensitivity to heat. He also had a nervous moment in the first round, needing five sets to get past Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic. But from there, he found his rhythm and never looked back.
The last time Sinner lost to Zverev was at the 2023 U.S. Open. Their most recent Grand Slam final meeting — the 2025 Australian Open — ended in a straight-sets defeat for Zverev that the German described as deeply affecting.
Sinner acknowledged that Zverev’s French Open victory has given his opponent a new level of belief heading into Sunday’s match.
“Because he tried for so long, and then when you finally achieve it, it’s amazing and then gives you this confidence boost,” Sinner said. “We see it again here. We saw how aggressive he’s playing, serving very big. He is a tough player to play against.”
