Alexander Zverev reveals Novak Djokovic conversation that helped him overcome setback ahead of Australian Open

Alexander Zverev is through to his first-ever Australian Open final and third in all Grand Slams. Previously, he had reached the semifinals of the Australian Open twice, in 2020 and 2024. In total, he has reached nine major semifinals but has never been able to go the full distance.

The German reached the final after Novak Djokovic retired after the first set of their semifinal clash due to a hamstring injury in his left leg. During the on-court interview and press conference, Zverev showed his respect and admiration for the 24-time Grand Slam champion. He even spoke about the conversations he had with Djokovic during the Shanghai Masters, where he was knocked out in the fourth round by David Goffin.

“I was just asking him how it was for him when he was having difficult moments, you know, 2016, '17 and all that, how he was coming back. He was always very open to me. We had very long chats there as well. We practiced quite a lot together in Shanghai, funny enough. He was just talking to me about his situations and about his experiences with difficult times.” [5:44]

The World No. 2 was not in a good headspace after losing the French Open final against Carlos Alcaraz last year, which was then followed by a quarterfinal exit at the US Open, which further disappointed him as he felt that he performed very badly and could have done a lot better.

Zverev did not even win any tournaments during that period. After his conversations with Djokovic at the Shanghai Masters, Zverev won the Paris Masters and has now reached the final at the Melbourne major.

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Novak Djokovic in support of Alexander Zverev to win the Australian Open

Novak Djokovic at the press conference after the semifinal match of Australian Open 2025 - Source: Getty

During the post-match conference, Djokovic showed his support for Zverev to win his first-ever Grand Slam. The Serbian said:

“I wish Sascha all the best, he deserves his first Slam. I will be cheering for him hopefully he can get it here.” [4:54]

To which Zverev replied in his post-match conference:

“That means a lot to me, especially from Novak, I think, who I admire and respect so much. I'm very thankful to Novak for wishing me that. Yeah, let's see what's going to happen on the weekend.” [7:27]

They have a strong bond, and on numerous occasions, they have said good things about each other.

The final is set to take place on Sunday, January 26, between Zverev and the World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the evening session at Rod Laver Arena; the match is expected to produce high-voltage action for the viewers.