Alexander Zverev suffered a major Italian Open upset as he was knocked out in the round of 16 by home favourite Matteo Arnaldi.
Zverev looked to be in full control as he took the first set 6-1, but a second set tie-break and a shocking third set bagel saw him exit the competition.
The German was an overwhelming favourite to reach the final as he was placed in the other half of the draw to Jannik Sinner at the Rome event.
Instead, his Roland Garros preparations have ended in disappointment and he will also lose 100 ranking points as he reached the quarter-finals of last year’s event.
The German was far from happy with the conditions for his match against Arnaldi in Rome and he was sure to put that on record during his post-match press conference.
“It was difficult to play. I mean, to be honest, the court, I think this is the worst court I’ve ever played on. Juniors, professional, futures, practice, I never player on a court where the court quality is that bad,” said Zverev.
“I have match point and the ball jumps over my head. I have break point, the ball rolls. The win was tough. Overall, again, I just think I should have won the match in two sets. After that, yeah, he played fantastic.”
Later on in the press conference, Zverev was asked if this performance and defeat further had him questioning whether he had the skills to topple Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Zverev was forthright that he still believes he can beat the dominant duo.
“I do have to believe that l’m capable of beating him,” he said. “I do have to believe it, otherwise we can just give him the trophy without playing the tournament.”
Zverev must stay positive ahead of Roland Garros, but it would be understandable if he was not. He has lost four of his last five matches against Alcaraz, and his record against Sinner is even worse.
The German has lost nine straight matches to Sinner, including four defeats already this year. Zverev has been dumped out of Madrid, Monte Carlo, Miami, and Indian Wells at the hands of the Italian.
Zverev’s last victory against Sinner came at the 2023 US Open, when the German knocked the Italian out of the competition after a five set clash.
Zverev’s head-to-head record with Alcaraz is currently 7-6 in the Spaniard’s favour. Sinner, meanwhile, holds a 10-4 lead over Zverev in their head-to-head.
