Alexander Zverev criticized the ATP Tour for its scheduling of late-night matches and stated he was at a drawback within the remaining towards Carlos Alcaraz on the Madrid Open.
The third-ranked Zverev was overpowered by the 19-year-old Spaniard in straight units.
Zverev conceded that he in all probability would have misplaced to Alcaraz even when he was “fresh,” however stated that a minimum of it might have been a “better final” if he hadn’t needed to go to mattress after 4 am native time the earlier evening .
He stated it is an issue that has been taking place on a weekly foundation and he was getting “tired of it,” including that the tour must do higher to keep away from being unfair with gamers.
“The ATP’s job was an absolute disgrace this week,” Zverev stated.
“To play a final against Carlos Alcaraz, who for me is the best player in the world right now, in a Masters 1000 event… it is difficult. I had no coordination today. 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.” He stated that through the warmup he already knew he would battle.
“I used to be a bit bit late all the time. My first step was not so fast,” Zverev stated.
“If you are playing the best players in the world, you have to be at your top. Otherwise, you will have no chance. Today I had no chance.” Zverev started Saturday’s semifinal match against Stefanos Tsitsipas at about 11 pm local time and the three-set match ended after 1 am He returned to the “Caja Mágica” heart court docket after the match to follow his service for a couple of minutes, then needed to work together with his physios and eat earlier than getting again to the resort.
“I think all of us have stayed up late, all of us may be partied sometimes, but if you are staying up until 4 am, the next day you are dead,” he stated.
“I played the next day. If you’re doing it again, the next day until 5 am, you will have a difficult time to be even awake.” Zverev additionally performed within the evening session towards Felix Auger-Aliassime within the quarterfinals, when he gained in two units.
“I don’t want to take anything away (from Carlos),” Zverev stated.
“I really feel unhappy for the ultimate that we performed as a result of this might have been an excellent match. This may have been an amazing match.” The common scheduling of high-profile late matches has been a serious supply of frustration for the German participant.
“It’s quite upsetting because it takes away a great match. It takes away the sport of tennis. Everybody wanted to see a great fight. Everybody wanted to see some high-level tennis. But I’m also human. I’m not a robot,” Zverev stated.
“I can’t. I simply cannot be on my level when this is happening every single night.” Zverev additionally needed to play late in Acapulco earlier this yr.
“The chances are being taken away from me,” he stated.
“At the end of the day, everybody forgets about those things. Nobody talks about it, you know. Everybody says, Yeah, it was a bad match, I made double faults, I didn’t play well and all of that. But look at what is happening the days before. Look at what is actually happening behind the scenes, as well. It’s not quite fair, I think.”
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
