Australian Open 2025 LIVE updates: Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev in men’s singles final showdown for grand slam title

Alexander Zverev tapped into close friend and tour rival Novak Djokovic for deep advice only months ago as the German grappled with his biggest quest in tennis: Breaking through to win a major.

Zverev, who will face Jannik Sinner in tonight’s Australian Open final, has lost his previous two grand slam finals in five sets – last year’s Roland-Garros decider against Carlos Alcaraz and the 2020 US Open final against Dominic Thiem.

He said he turned to Djokovic in Shanghai only weeks after he crashed out to Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals at the US Open.

“I was not winning tournaments any more,” Zverev said about talking to Djokovic in Shanghai.

“I was just asking him how it was for him when he was having difficult moments, you know, [in] 2016, ’17 and all that, how he was coming back. He was always very open to me.”

Zverev said the pair had long chats and even caught up to practice together in Shanghai.

“He was just talking to me about his situations and about his experiences with difficult times.”

“He’s been one of my closest friends on tour. Whenever I struggled, I could always text him, I could always call him, I could always speak to him for advice.”

Read Scott Spits’ full story on the Zverev-Djokovic relationship here.