Alexander Zverev slams ATP over ‘disgraceful’ Madrid Open scheduling, saying: ‘I’m a little tired of it’

ATP Tour
Alexander Zverev talks to the media

Alexander Zverev has lashed out at the ATP over the Madrid Open schedule, describing it as “an absolute disgrace” as he revealed he went to bed just hours before his loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the final on Sunday.

The German suffered a demoralising 6-3, 6-1 defeat at the hands of Alcaraz in just 61 minutes and after the match he described the Spaniard as “the best player in the world”.

However, the second seed lambasted the powers that be during his post-match press conference over his late-night matches in the quarter-final and semi-final.

Zverev’s victory against Felix Auger-Aliassime finished early on Saturday morning while his last-four encounter against Stefanos Tstisipas got underway close to midnight on Saturday and, as a result, he only went to bed after 5am with the match against Alcaraz getting underway at 18:30.

“One thing I have to say is that the ATP’s job was an absolute disgrace this week. Two days ago I went to bed at 4am, 4:30am. Yesterday I went to bed at 5:20am,” he said.

“You know, if any normal person goes to bed one night at 4am, the next night at 5am, it will be a tough time just to be awake for them. And for me to play a final against Carlos Alcaraz, who for me is the best player in the world right now, in a Masters 1000 event, the next day, it is difficult.

“Today on court, I’m a little bit angry, I would say, because I had no coordination on my serve, I had no coordination on my groundstrokes. I missed two overheads that were super easy because I see the ball, and everything is moving in my eyes.

“I don’t want to take anything away, and today obviously, even if I’m fresh, probably I would not beat Carlos, but definitely it would be a better match.

“At the end of the day, I think all of us have stayed up late, all of us maybe partied sometimes, but if you’re staying up until 4am, the next day, you’re dead. If you’re doing it again, the next day until 5am, you will have a difficult time to even be awake.

“He’s a great player. He’s the best in the world right now. But to be honest, I feel sad for the final that we played, because this could have been a very good match. This could have been a great match. But I had absolutely no chance today of being myself.”

Zverev insisted that is becoming a common problem at ATP matches as he also had a similar problem at the Mexican Open as his win over Jenson Brooksby finished at 4.55am after only getting underway at 1.30am local time.

He added: “I had absolutely no chance of playing my level. This is not the first time this is happening. In Acapulco I played until 5am, I was awake until 8:30am. This is happening on a weekly basis, and to be honest, I’m a little tired of it.”

Alexander Zverev

Latest