Zverev on Sinner: "He's the Best Player in the World"

Alexander Zverev has set the bar low for himself against "the best player in the world" at the Madrid Open.

Alexander Zverev will face Jannik Sinner in the Madrid Open final. | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

The prevailing story of the 2026 ATP season has been Jannik Sinner's return to the World No. 1 ranking, driven by his dominance at Masters 1000 events. Earlier today, Sinner defeated Arthur Fils in straight sets in the Madrid Open semifinal.

The victory made Sinner the youngest player (24 years old) to reach the final of all nine Masters 1000 events in his career. Even better, the Italian superstar has won 27 consecutive matches at Masters events, and has a chance to win his fourth Masters title of the year already.

The moment Jannik Sinner beat Arthur Fils to reach the Madrid final

5th straight Masters 1000 final… absolutely nuts

He now holds the 4th longest win streak in Masters events

Djokovic - 31
Djokovic - 30
Federer - 29
𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 - 𝟐𝟕

Big smile 🇮🇹🦊 pic.twitter.com/NPOQM7bo8l

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 1, 2026

Just one man stands in Sinner's way: Alexander Zverev. On Friday evening, Zverev defeated Alexander Blockx in straight sets of their semifinal match to punch his ticket to the final: 6-2, 7-5.

"I am very happy to be in the final," Zverev said. "There were a lot of tough battles, especially at the start of the tournament. I am looking forward to playing Jannik again and looking forward to a tough match. The better player will win on Sunday."

“Tennis is very, very easy for him right now, the way he’s playing”@AlexZverev previews a 14 meeting with @janniksin 👀 #MMOpen pic.twitter.com/O3d0bDdumc

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 1, 2026

In a lighthearted moment during his on-court interview, Zverev set the bar pretty low for himself while also praising Sinner as the best player in the world.

"I think he's just enjoying tennis right now," said Zverev. "I think tennis is very, very easy for him right now. The way he's playing, but maybe on Sunday, I will manage to make it a bit more difficult to him."

The interviewer said, "You beat him four times before." Zverev laughed and replied, "Yeah, but that was... not the last eight times. The last eight times, I didn't win, I didn't win much, so yeah. Look, he's the best player in the world, for sure, and I'm just gonna try to give him a top battle."

First Masters 1000 final in 18 months! 🙌@AlexZverev prevails against Blockx 6-2 7-5 to move into a fourth final in the Spanish capital!#MMOpen pic.twitter.com/SFjVTNrCIu

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 1, 2026

Sinner is 9-4 against Zverev in head-to-head singles matches on the ATP Tour. Zverev's last win against Sinner came in the Round of 16 at the 2023 US Open. Additionally, Sinner has beaten Zverev three times this year.

Sinner is the World No. 1 with a singles record of 29-2 with three titles. Zverev is the World No. 3 with a singles record of 26-7 and zero titles. They will face off on Sunday, May 3.

After the showdown between Sinner and Zverev, the clay court swing will continue with the Internazionali BNL d'Italia that runs from May 6-17. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's Serve On SI for all of your tennis news from the court and beyond.