Alexander Zverev continued to show why he’s one of the biggest threats to the biggest names in tennis on Friday, bouncing back from a first-set blow-out to beat No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics, 1-6, 6-3, 6-1.
The German is now 10-15 in his career against the Big 3 of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer (3-6 against Djokovic, 3-6 against Nadal and 4-3 against Federer).
Zverev is an even more dangerous 10-11 against the Big 3 in best-of-three-sets format (3-4 against Djokovic, 3-4 against Nadal and 4-3 against Federer).
Even more impressive is that all 10 of Zverev’s wins over Djokovic, Nadal and Federer have come when they were at (or at least near) the top of their games—every single time he’s beaten one of the Big 3, they’ve been ranked in the Top 3 of the ATP rankings:
d. No. 3 Federer in 2016 Halle SFs
d. No. 2 Djokovic in 2017 Rome F
d. No. 3 Federer in 2017 Canada F
d. No. 3 Federer in 2018 ATP Finals SFs
d. No. 1 Djokovic in 2018 ATP Finals F
d. No. 3 Federer in 2019 Shanghai QFs
d. No. 1 Nadal in 2019 ATP Finals RR
d. No. 2 Nadal in 2020 Paris SFs
d. No. 2 Nadal in 2021 Madrid QFs
d. No. 1 Djokovic in 2021 Olympics SFs
Zverev has one more Top 3 win in his career, beating a No. 3-ranked Stan Wawrinka in the final of St. Petersburg in 2016. The German is a former No. 3 himself, and currently No. 5.