ATP Munich: Alexander Zverev - "A match that I must never lose"
Alexander Zverev was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the ATP 250 tournament in Munich - and was bitterly disappointed after the defeat against Ilya Ivashka.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Apr 30, 2021, 11:47 pm
The role of favorites at the ATP 250 event in Munich could hardly have been more clearly distributed: It seemed almost inevitable that Alexander Zverev would ultimately win the title from the Bavarian capital. But as it is in sport, everything turned out differently than you thought.
Because Zverev had to make it to the world number 107 in the quarterfinals. Ilya Ivashka was beaten. For a long time it had looked good for the German number one despite a moderate performance, with the score of 7: 6 (5) and 5: 4, the 24-year-old even served to win the match. However, he was unable to finish the game. Rather, about an hour later it was the man from Belarus who closed the sack with 6: 7 (5), 7: 5 and 6: 3.
Zverev commits 14 double faults
"This is a match that I must never lose. I am sad and disappointed," said Zverev after the encounter. In fact, the bankruptcy fell into the "avoidable" category, after all it was the sixth in the world rankings who won all important points for almost two sentences, but suddenly buckled at the crucial moment.
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With a double mistake he gave Ivashka the rebreak to make it 5: 5 - the beginning of the end. In any case, Zverev's serve failed this Friday, the 24-year-old made 14 double mistakes during the entire game. "At some point I lost my movement and no longer knew how to get the ball into the field," said the native of Hamburg.
Next attack in Madrid
After his opening success via Ricardas Berankis, Zverev had declared that he had gotten the elbow problems under control and was finally pain-free. Against Ivashka - that was evident - confidence in his arm was not yet fully restored.
But on a pitch-black day there was also good news for Zverev: The next week at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid there will be the next opportunity for a tournament victory. The draw meant it with the world number sixth, however, anything but good .
Here the single tableau in Munich