'Carlos Alcaraz needs to stay away from controversy - I want to spoil his party'

Alexander Zverev has warned Carlos Alcaraz to stay away from controversy if he wants to remain tennis' golden boy, adding that he's here to crash his party.

The world No.3 declared himself "not good enough" to take on Alcaraz and Wimbledon winner Jannik Sinner after losing to the latter in the Australian Open final in January, but has since changed his mind.

Zverev now reckons he's close to gatecrashing the Alcaraz and Sinner show. The German told Tennis365: "Maybe it hasn't been my best year, but I don't think I'm as far away as some people might think.

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"At the moment, Carlos is the star boy. He just brings great energy to the court, and along with Jannik, they are the players to beat. I just hope to spoil their party a little bit, and I think I can do that."

It's a far cry from his previously defeatist attitude, where he said after his defeat to Sinner: "You're just too good. It's as simple as that. I want to thank my team. We're trying to do all the right work. I'm just not good enough. It's as simple as that. I don't know if I'll ever be able to lift the trophy, but I'll keep coming back, I'll keep trying."

Zverev may have touted Alcaraz as the 'star boy' of tennis, but he made sure to warn the Spaniard that he must remain attractive to the tennis fans and avoid any controversial moments in order to keep this persona up.

"Carlos is a great guy. He is fun to be around, and he always has a smile on his face. If he can avoid any controversies, he is going to be very, very loved by tennis fans," he added.

Zverev has a slight edge in his head-to-head record against Alcaraz and Sinner, boasting one more victory over each. The German tennis ace has notched up six wins against Alcaraz's five, while he leads Sinner with four wins to three.

Despite this advantage, Zverev has yet to clinch a Grand Slam title, having fallen short in three finals: the 2025 Australian Open against Sinner, the 2024 French Open to Alcaraz, and the 2020 US Open, where Dominic Thiem triumphed. To truly rival his higher-ranked stars, Zverev recognises the need to reach more major finals and ultimately lift the trophy.