Jannik Sinner, Griekspoor has a change of heart after his attack on Zverev. But only partly

Tallon Griekspoor certainly wasn’t diplomatic in recent days when he called the 2026 U.S. Open final “mediocre.” The Dutch tennis player, in an interview on a YouTube podcast, didn’t mince words: “The final? I couldn’t bring myself to watch Zverev in this tournament. He was bouncing the ball 400 times before every serve. It was really extreme, but apparently it helped him. Maybe I should do that too.”

And again: “Not a single hair on my head thinks Zverev can become the world No. 1. I hope Alcaraz and Sinner return to the top soon, but if they were to drop out early, then he’ll be there, ready to step in. That’s why he could win four or five Grand Slams.”

The Dutchman’s comments caused quite a stir, and on Friday the player had to clarify (though only partially) his remarks on X: “I don’t usually post here, but the situation is getting out of hand. I just said that the final was hard to watch because of the constant bounces. I can only praise Sascha for what he’s done this year!”

Sinner, Alcaraz, and Zverev could all meet up in Beijing for the China Open: the Italian has a lot of points to defend between now and the end of the season and risks being overtaken before the year’s end by the red-hot German.