Alexander Zverev says his ‘biggest weapon was taken away’ in Carlos Alcaraz defeat
Alexander Zverev has declared his “biggest weapon was taken away” during his US Open loss to Carlos Alcaraz due to an injury he suffered during the match.
The German explained that he “felt something” in his hamstring glute early in the second set and was unable to push off on his serve after sustaining the injury.
Zverev was defeated 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 by the world No 1 and defending champion in the last eight of the hard-court major on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old now holds a 3-3 record against the 20-year-old Spaniard, having lost three of the pair’s last four matches in straight sets.
The world No 12 had edged a five-set battle with sixth seed Jannik Sinner – which lasted over four hours and 40 minutes – in the previous round.
Following his convincing defeat to two-time major champion Alcaraz, Zverev admitted that a physical issue started to hamper his chances after the opening set.
“I was in the match the first set, yeah. I could have broken, it could have gone my way, it didn’t. Then the second set I felt something in my hamstring glute, left side. I couldn’t push off on my serve anymore,” said the former US Open runner-up in his press conference.
“My serve speed was down quite a lot compared to the other days. Against him especially I needed a good serving day otherwise it would have been difficult. Yeah, I think my biggest weapon was kind of taken away after the first set, and yeah, it’s difficult to even compete if you don’t have that.”
Zverev clarified that the issue arose during the quarter-final and had not been present in his contest with Sinner.
“No, I felt nothing (in the Sinner match). I felt nothing going into the match. Yeah, it just kind of appeared. The problem is that it’s really bothered me,” continued the 26-year-old.
“It bothered me running a little bit, but the biggest problem is pushing off on my serve. Yeah, I think if the serve speed goes down, percentage goes down, it’s very difficult to compete with Carlos.”
The former world No 2 was also asked how much his late-night last 16 clash had taken out of him physically.
“Oh, yeah, I mean, everything, to be honest. I think we were both physically done after that match. I thought I recovered quite well,” added Zverev.
“Just looking at the facts, I think we finished at 1:30 at night. You know, we played 4 hours, 40 minutes. For that, I think I recovered quite okay. But yeah, today [it] wasn’t enough to be competitive.”
