Alexander Zverev: "Worst match in the last five or six years"
After his surprisingly smooth exit against Holger Rune in the round of 16 of the ATP Tour 250 tournament in Munich, Alexander Zverev was mainly disappointed with himself.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Apr 27, 2022, 03:55 pm
A few minutes after his defeat against Holger Rune at the first appearance at the ATP Tour 250 tournament in Munich, Alexander Zverev did not make so few people happy after all. Despite the bankruptcy and a clearly audible cold, the number one who had just said goodbye, the two-time champion at the MTTC Iphitos, was still available to the fans for autographs and selfies. The good old Rafa Nadal school, so to speak. Even the Spanish grandmaster is still open to the wishes of paying customers after defeats.
Previously, however, Zverev had settled his 99-minute appearance against Rune quite hard. He was only able to win five games, every third forehand went somewhere, ultimately he would have had no chance against any other player in the 28 tableau that day. What didn't do justice to the performance of the 18-year-old Dane: Because Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune was able to fully convince as a tactician on this Wednesday afternoon. Again and again he took the tempo out of the shots, most of the attempts to stop ultimately led to a point.
In addition to Zverev, the number one double also loses
After all, Zverev conceded to his conqueror that he could play a good role in men's tennis in the foreseeable future. For himself, however, he classified the game as one of the “worst in the last five or six years”. He didn't feel really good during training either, according to Zverev, who won in Munich in 2017 and 2018. Incidentally, his immediate successor also had to bow out on the third day of the traditional tournament: Cristian Garin, Munich Champion 2019, lost 3: 6 and 4: 6 to his Chilean compatriot Alejandro Tabilo.
There were at least two notable results in doubles: Philipp Kohlschreiber will probably have played his last professional game in Munich with the 1: 6 and 4: 6 alongside Max Hans Rehberg. And the pair Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, who were seeded in first place, surprisingly lost 4:6 and 5:7 to Fabrice Martin and Andrey Golubev.
Which doesn't change the fact that Zverev's exit was ultimately the biggest surprise of the day. The Olympic champion will be heading to Madrid in a few days, with Sergi Bruguera in tow. Everything is fine with the Spanish coach, there is only one person to blame for the defeat against Rune: himself.