The best tennis player in the world was too good for Alexander Zverev in the final of the Australian Open 2025. With a clear three-set victory over Hamburg, Jannik Sinner secured the third Grand Slam title of his career. He had Zverev so under control that he hired a sad “record”, which is also held by Boris Becker, among others.
In the end, Alexander Zverev was able to do what he wanted in the final of the Australian Open 2025: Jannik Sinner had an answer to every problem. The Italian played his boot down so routinely against the German that there were never real doubts about his victory.
A very special statistics underpin this impression: During the entire season of 2:45 hours, Zverev did not make it once to work out a breakball. The Italian brought all 16 premium games home, 84 percent of the rallies he won 63 percent when his first serve came over the net if he had to go through the second surcharge. Zverev, actually the better server, clearly had the left behind (69 and 50 percent).
Zverev meets the “Becker-Schicksal”
According to the data service provider Opta, there had only been four times in a Grand Slam final over the entire season without a single breakball. Boris Becker is also a member of this list.
Becker had suffered fate in Wimbledon’s final in 1995. At that time, the German legend was defeated by the American Pete Sampras. Curious: Although Becker didn’t have a break chance, he won a sentence. Ultimately, however, he also had no chance at 7: 6, 2: 6, 4: 6 and 2: 6.
Also without a break chance, Australian Mark Philippoussis against Roger Federer in Wimbledon 2003 and the South African Kevin Anderson against Rafael Nadal in the final of the US Open 2017 had also remained without break chance.