Alexander Zverev at a loss for his shocking run of form
Alexander Zverev admits he has “no idea what’s happening” in terms of his form after he suffered yet another early exit, this time going down in three sets against Matteo Berrettini at the Monte Carlo Masters.
Having finished runner-up to world No 1 Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open, many believed the German would kick on but instead he has stumbled.
With Sinner banned for three months following his positive doping tests back in March 2024, Zverev had the opportunity to replace the Italian at No 1 in the ATP Rankings.
But he has endured a shocking run of form as he fell at the quarter-final stage of the Argentina Open and Rio Open before exiting the Mexican Open in the second round.
His Sunshine Double campaign started with a second-round defeat at the Indian Wells Open before he suffered a round of 16 loss to Arthur Fils at the Miami Open.
The switch from hard courts to clay was meant to give the three-time Grand Slam finalist a boost, but he started his swing with a 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 loss against Berrettini.
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Asked about his latest defeat and general struggles, the 27-year-old replied: “What was decisive is that I played the first set very well, but once I lost my serve in the second set, I started playing 10 times worse. My ball is very slow, I can’t move anything.
“I stopped hitting the ball, and this has been the same story for the past few months. Nothing changes, always the same. So it’s me who lost the match, once again.
“I thought my level was terrible, but that’s just my opinion.”
He added: “I have no idea what’s happening to me right now. I have been trying to understand it for several months, but I don’t even know what to say anymore.
“I don’t know. All I know is that I’m losing matches, nothing more.”
He has previously stated that his inability to close out matches is one of the key reasons for his current woes and that was again the case against Berrettini.
After going down an early break in the decisive set, he managed to break back in game 10 only for the Italian to break again in the next game before serving it out.
“If I were to win two or three matches this way, fighting so hard, there wouldn’t be as many questions,” he said after the Berrettini loss.
“But I lost in three sets in Buenos Aires, in three sets in Rio, in three sets in Indian Wells, in three sets in Miami, and in three sets here. I haven’t won a single one, and that’s what matters.”
Zverev will get another opportunity to regain form at the Bavarian International Tennis Championships as he is the top seed at the ATP 500 event in Munich.
