Alexander Zverev ATP grand slams

Zverev, the second tennis player in 40 years to reach 3 Grand Slam finals without defeating a top-20 player

Diego Jiménez Rubio - 12 Sep 2026
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Alexander Zverev, Grand Slam finalist without a win over a top-20 player. Photo: gettyimages

It is neither criticizable nor does it detract from his achievement; it is simply an objective fact. Alexander Zverev has become the second tennis player since 1986 to reach three Grand Slam finals without having faced any player ranked in the top-20 along the way. The German has managed to take advantage of the fall of favorites in his section of the US Open 2026, as he did in two previous occasions.

And it was the same in the US Open 2020 and at Roland Garros 2026, where his journey to the final match for the title followed a similar path. He had the chance to serve for victory in Flushing Meadows against Thiem, in that tournament marked by the global COVID-19 pandemic, while in Paris he resolved the final and lifted the huge burden that he had been carrying. 

The highest-ranked player he has faced in this edition of the US Open was Luciano Darder, ranked 22 in the world, while in Paris it was Jakub Mensik, ranked 27th, and in New York six years ago, Pablo Carreño, also ranked 27th. Lady Luck seems to have allied with Sascha in these tournaments, but no one is free from the possibility of being surprised and losing to lower-ranked players, so none of this overshadows his triumph.

The big question: Who is the other player who reached the final in 3 different Grand Slams without facing a top-20? The answer is Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard encountered this situation at Roland Garros 2010, US Open 2017, and US Open 2019. This scenario is not as unusual in the history of tennis as one might expect, as there have been up to 23 tournaments in 40 years where a player reached the final without defeating a top-20 member. Will Alexander Zverev round off the task?

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Zverev, segundo tenista en 40 años que llega a 3 finales de Grand Slam sin ganar a un top-20