Alexander Zverev’s ‘catastrophic’ China Open showing brutally criticised by former world No 10
Former world No 10 Arnaud Clement has suggested Alexander Zverev gave up in his China Open defeat to his nemesis Daniil Medvedev as he labelled the performance “catastrophic.”
Zverev fell 3-6, 3-6 to 18th-ranked Medvedev in the quarter-finals of the ATP 500 tournament in Beijing in a match that was less competitive than the scoreline indicates as he won just 46 of the 109 points (42%).
The world No 3 lost serve three times and did not break Medvedev — who has now won 13 of the pair’s last 15 meetings and leads the head-to-head 14-7.
The German named Medvedev as the “most annoying” opponent for him to face in his appearance on the Nothing Major podcast in August.
Zverev’s underwhelming campaign in Beijing comes after he lost both of his matches at the Laver Cup and suffered a disappointing third round exit at the US Open.
Speaking on Eurosport France, Clement praised Medvedev’s display before issuing a scathing verdict on Zverev’s showing.
“The positive side of this match was Medvedev’s tennis,” said the 2001 Australian Open finalist.
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“He was of great quality. He was super solid, good on serve, he rectified a somewhat average start to the match. He was mobile, aggressive.
“But the very negative side was what Zverev did to us, even if he lacked confidence. He even lost his fighting spirit. He completely let go in the last two or three games.
“It was catastrophic, really, what he produced. He lacked energy, drive, desire, perhaps also physical dynamism. He was far from enough. It was largely insufficient.”
This is not the first time Clement has been critical of Zverev as he wrote off the German’s hopes of winning a Grand Slam after his Australian Open final loss to Jannik Sinner in January.
“I am always very tough [on Zverev], and it is not a particular desire on my part to be so,” the Frenchman told Eurosport.
“But when, for example, he makes comments about the work put in, in fact the work put in is visible, that is to say that we do not need to say it, it is visible on the court.
“If Sinner is suspended and [Carlos] Alcaraz injured, maybe he will have a chance. But if there are these two guys who are still in the draw and in full possession of their means, for me, he has no chance of beating them both. His wait-and-see attitude can never be compensated for by his quality of service.”
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