MELBOURNE: World number two Alexander Zve­rev insisted Friday he has the mindset to win a first Grand Slam — but adm­itted Jannik Sinner was red-hot favourite to de­f­end his Australian Open title.

The German is approaching the opening major of the year with his confidence high after winning the Rome and Paris Masters 1000 titles in recent months.

Such was his form that he won more matches than anyone bar world number one Sinner last season, propelling him to a career-high ranking.

But a Grand Slam has remained elusive for nearly a decade, with runner-up finishes at the 2020 US Open and French Open last year his best efforts so far.

“Look, I think everybody knows what I’m chasing. Everybody knows what my goal and my dreams are, right? It’s to win,” he said.

“Going into a Grand Slam as the world number two, you have to have the mindset of: I want to win the tournament.

“That’s how my mindset is.”

Zverev gets his Aust­ralian Open under way against French wildcard Lucas Pouille on Sunday, with a huge task ahead if he is to win the title.

He is on course to meet sixth-ranked Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals before a potential semi-final with either 10-time champion Novak Djokovic or third seed Carlos Alcaraz.

Sinner could await in the final.

“I think the usual names. Jannik, Alcaraz, Novak for sure is part of that list. Daniil [Med­vedev], because he’s done it before,” Zverev said on who he saw as his rivals for the title.

“But I think the biggest favourite is still Jannik, who is very far up that list. He’s still number one by a big margin.”

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2025