6 men who lost their first 3 Grand Slam finals ft. Alexander Zverev, Andre Agassi

Alexander Zverev failed to derail Jannik Sinner’s title defense at the 2025 Australian Open, losing the men’s singles final on Sunday. The Italian came through 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-4.

Both men were playing in their third Grand Slam finals. While Sinner has now won all three of his, Zverev is still searching for a maiden victory.

The German, however, can take heart from the career trajectories of a few other big names who lost their first three Grand Slam finals only to turn things around later in their career. Let’s take a look at how things unfolded for some of the said players:

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Ivan Lendl

Ivan Lendl (Source: Getty)

Ivan Lendl lost not the first three but the first four Grand Slam finals of his career. Three of those losses came consecutively at the US Open in 1982, 1983 and 1984 against Jimmy Connors in the first two and John McEnroe in the third.

Before that, however, Lendl had also lost his first Slam final at the 1981 French Open against Bjorn Borg. He had also reached the summit clash at the 1983 Australian Open but came up short against Mats Wilander.

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Andre Agassi

Andre Agassi (Source: Getty)

Andre Agassi first burst onto the scene in the late 1980s but success did not follow immediately. While many fondly remember the eighth Grand Slam titles that the American lifted, it wasn’t until his seventh year on Tour that he could lift one of those trophies.

Agassi first reached a Grand Slam final at the 1990 French Open but lost in four sets to Andres Gomez. Pete Sampras got the better of the American at the US Open later that year. Agassi came agonizingly close to a win at the 1991 French Open but fell short against Jim Courier before finally taking that leap at his home Slam, the US Open in 1994.

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Goran Ivanisevic

Goran Ivanisevic (Source: Getty)

If there’s a player who understands what a long wait for a Grand Slam title can feel like, it has to be Goran Ivanisevic. The Croat was playing in his 48th main draw at the All England Club when he finally got his hands on the trophy at the 2001 Wimbledon Championships.

Ivanisevic had made three other finals at the same venue over the years, suffering losses to Andre Agassi in 1992 and Pete Sampras in 1994 and 1998. The past heartbreaks, however, made the 2001 win over Pat Rafter allthemore rewarding.

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Andy Murray

Andy Murray (Source: Getty)

Much like Lendl, Andy Murray also had to taste defeat in his four Grand Slam finals. The only man to breach the ‘Big 3’ wall, comprising Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, consistently enough was finally rewarded at the 2012 US Open, when he got the better of Djokovic in the final.

Prior to that, however, Murray had lost to Federer at the finals of the 2008 US Open, the 2010 Australian Open and the 2012 Wimbledon Championships. Djokovic had also denied him at the 2011 Australian Open.

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Dominic Thiem

Dominic Thiem (Source: Getty)

For a very long, the French Open was the Grand Slam where Dominic Thiem would come really close to winning the title only to be denied by none other than the “King of Clay”, Rafael Nadal, in 2018 and 2019.

Thiem then showed his prowess on the quicker hardcourts, making the summit clash at the 2020 Australian Open. He, however, was beaten by Novak Djokovic. The Austrian finally got over the line at the US Open later that year against Alexander Zverev.

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Alexander Zverev

Alexander Zverev (Source: Getty)

Alexander Zverev lost to a better player at the Australian Open on Sunday, but he has put in better showing at Grand Slam finals in the past.

The German’s first Grand Slam final was against Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open and he was, in fact, in a winning position only to squander away a two-set lead to finish as the runner up. He again found himself up two sets to one against Carlos Alcaraz at last year’s French Open final but was bested in five this time too.

The perseverance form the five other men who managed to turn things around for themselves, however, would only inspire Zverev to continue working towards getting his hands on that elusive Grand Slam trophy.