Alexander Zverev has the unwanted distinction of being the best player on the ATP Tour who has yet to win a Grand Slam title.
The German has been a runner-up at all of the majors except Wimbledon, and has an additional six Grand Slam semi-finals to his name.
A straight sets defeat by Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open saw Zverev’s latest appearance in a final go up in smoke, and the world number three has struggled for form since that disappointment.
He has managed just two match wins across his three Masters 1000 tournament entries this season, and time is running out for Zverev to build momentum ahead of the Grand Slam that may represent his best shot at finally breaking his major title duck.
French Open
Zverev has been a model of consistency at Roland Garros throughout his career. He has reached the semi-finals in each of the last four renewals, and finally went one better a year ago, beating Casper Ruud to make the final.
Ladbrokes have Zverev as the fourth favourite at 7/1 to win the tournament. Punters may get a better price via a boost, as referred to in this Ladbrokes review.
Those odds could come crashing down if the 27-year-old notches one of the Masters 1000 events before the French Open, which he has done four times (twice in Madrid, twice in Rome).
Zverev won the Italian Open last May, setting him up perfectly for Roland Garros, where he saw off Rafael Nadal in the first round and led Carlos Alcaraz by two sets to one in the final before being pegged back.
Wimbledon
A poor record at SW19 means Zverev’s chances of winning Wimbledon are relatively slim. Ladbrokes are at 12/1, while other firms are as big as 18/1. Alcaraz and Sinner are co-favourites with Novak Djokovic just behind them. Even Jack Draper is above Zverev on the board.
Taylor Fritz came from two sets down to eliminate the Hamburg-native in the fourth round at the All England Club in 2024. It was the second time that Zverev had lost a five-setter at that stage of the competition, having been dispatched by Felix Auger-Aliassime in 2021.
US Open
Zverev’s first-ever Grand Slam final berth occurred at Flushing Meadows in 2020 when Dominic Thiem got the better of him.
Reigning champion Sinner is relentless on hard courts and will be difficult to stop, but Zverev can be backed at 7/1 with Ladbrokes.
His form heading into the final Grand Slam of 2025 is likely to offer some clues as to his prospects in New York. In 2021, Zverev won the Cincinnati Open, before cruising through to the US Open semi-finals where he was beaten in five sets by Djokovic.
Interestingly, Zverev has won both of his head-to-head meetings with Sinner at Flushing Meadows, although they both came before the Italian turned into a winning machine.
His only encounter with Alcaraz in New York saw the Spaniard come out on top in 2023.
Odds correct at the time of writing.
