Alexander Zverev suffered his fourth defeat of the year to Jannik Sinner at the ATP Finals on Wednesday, losing 6–4, 6–3 to the in-form Italian. But the German insists the scoreline did not reflect the true nature of the match.

The result comes just 11 days after Zverev’s heavy 6–0, 6–1 loss to Sinner at the Paris Masters, though this time the contest was far more competitive. Zverev, a two-time champion at the season-ending tournament in Turin, created more break-point opportunities but failed to convert any, while Sinner capitalised on both of his.

Sinner’s efficiency proved decisive — the Italian broke serve once in each set, enough to secure victory and a place in the semi-finals. Zverev, meanwhile, had seven break points spread across four games but couldn’t make any count.

“The biggest difference today was how he served on the break points,” Zverev said after the match. “I had more break points than him. From the baseline, I felt very good — actually better than in Vienna. But he had two chances to break me, and he used both. I had a lot of chances, and I didn’t use any.”

Sinner’s serve was key throughout, producing 12 aces, many in crucial moments. He fired four aces in the opening game alone — two of them saving break points — and recovered from 0–40 down early in the second set with another ace to hold.

“Sometimes when he’s serving like that, it’s very difficult,” Zverev added. “Seven break points, seven first serves — not one second serve. I wasn’t even in the rally. He’s improved his serve a lot.”

Despite the straight-sets defeat, Zverev maintained that his performance was stronger than the score suggested.

“It’s not unplayable. I had many opportunities; he had one and used it,” he said. “Of course, it’s easy to look at 6–4, 6–3 and think it was straightforward, but if you look deeper, it could have been a lot closer. So… don’t always judge by the score.”

Zverev, who opened his campaign with a win over Ben Shelton, will face Felix Auger-Aliassime on Friday, where victory would see him advance to the semi-finals from the Björn Borg Group — and possibly set up a rematch with defending champion Sinner in the final.

“Listen, I hope to see him again this week,” Zverev said with a smile.