"That's his words": Alexander Zverev reveals what Jannik Sinner told him in heartfelt conversation after Australian Open final

World number two Alexander Zverev has revealed what Italy’s Jannik Sinner told him just before the start of the ceremony after the final of the Australian Open. The 27-year-old had a rough day in the grand finale on Sunday in Melbourne, where he came second best against the reigning world number one in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-6, 6-3.

After the match and before the start of the trophy ceremony, Sinner was seen saying something to emotional Zverev who was trying to hold up after losing to arguably the best player in the world. The Hamburg-born star was asked in the closing ceremony what the reigning world number one was saying to him in that moment. Zverev revealed that sinner just told him that he is too good of a player to not lift a Grand Slam title. He also stated that he was emotional because this was the third time he suffered a defeat in the final of a major competition.

“Yeah, I mean, I was quite down,” said Zverev. “I was quite emotional also in that stage. I think he saw that. He said that I will definitely lift one of those trophies in my career. I'm too good not to. That's his words. Yeah, it was a little bit of a tough moment for me because I really went in the final and also the preparation today, I really thought I had a very good chance because I was feeling good. I was feeling the ball quite well. I was feeling like I can compete, yeah. So it was just a difficult moment for me. I mean, now for the third time, seeing somebody lift the trophy, me standing next to that is difficult because there's nothing more I want than to be able to hold one of those trophies in my hands.”