"Best of all time? On what earth does Alexander Zverev live?" - Fans react to German making bold claim about himself after Australian Open final loss

Alexander Zverev recently implied that he might already be the best player to have not won a Major title following his 2025 Australian Open final defeat. The tennis community on social media, however, disagreed at large with the German, claiming that some of his top predecessors were superior to him as a player.

Zverev had a good campaign in Melbourne this year as he reached his third career Grand Slam tournament final. However, the World No. 2 was completely dismantled in the men's singles summit clash on Sunday (January 26) as Jannik Sinner put in a phenomenal performance to down him by a scoreline of 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 in two hours and 45 minutes.

During his post-match press conference following his defeat, Alexander Zverev lamented how their encounter transpired while disclosing his fear of not winning a Major before his career ended.

"I'm doing the right things on and off court. Practicing the right things. But I lost this final in straight sets," Alexander Zverev told the media in Melbourne on Sunday. "I don't want to finish my career as the best ever player that never won a Slam."

Tennis fans on X (formerly Twitter) have since been at odds with Zverev's above insinuations. One fan went as far as to suggest that the 27-year-old was heavily misguided in his belief that he was the best 'Slamless' player ever.

The best player of all time??? On what earth does he live where someone thinks he's the best lol," the fan wrote on X.

Another fan, meanwhile, cited the likes of David Ferrer, Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and Tomas Berdych, all of whom were denied by the famed 'Big 4' at the Majors, to be more deserving of a Grand Slam triumph than Alexander Zverev.

"Don't worry Sacha, you won't. Ferrer, Tsonga, Berdych were way better players than you are," they wrote.

Here are a few more reactions from social media:

"Best player of all time?? he’s so delusional, stay slamless," one fan wrote.

"The gag is he won’t finish his career as the best player never to have won a slam because there have been many better players who did not win a slam," another fan insisted.

"There is an argument that he is the most accomplished Slamless player, but there were many better players (in terms of peak level/consistency) who never won one," one fan argued.

"Is best player of all time in the same room with us???" another fan joked.

"Rios and Nalbandian entered the chat," one fan claimed.

"Don't worry boo, there are plenty of better players who never won a slam, and you'll be remembered as an abusive asshole more than as a tennis player anyway," another fan wrote.

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A look at Alexander Zverev's haul of 'Big Titles' so far in his career

Alexander Zverev lifted his most recent Big Title at 2024 Paris Masters (Source: Getty)

Although many fans disagreed with Alexander Zverev's claim, he is still arguably one of the best players on the ATP Tour who has yet to enjoy a Major triumph. The German has competed in three finals (the 2020 US Open, the 2024 French Open, and the 2025 Australian Open) and reached six semifinals and four quarterfinals, respectively, at the Grand Slam tournaments.

That said, Zverev has been incredibly successful at the ATP Masters 1000 events. The World No. 2 has won seven 1000-level titles while finishing runner-up five times. He has also secured two ATP Finals titles (2018, 2021) while also winning the gold medal in men's singles at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, bringing his 'Big Titles' tally to 10.