WATCH: Alexander Zverev Rages At Supervisor And Slams Balls Used In Rome
NewsFriday, 16 May 2025 at 12:35
Alexander Zverev was far from happy during and after his loss at the 2025 Italian Open in Rome.
Zverev entered the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome as the second seed, and as the defending champion, he was one of the top favorites to win the tournament.
However, home player Lorenzo Musetti stopped him in the quarter-finals of the event, beating the German player 7-6(1), 6-4, to secure a spot in the semi-finals of the tournament.
After the loss, Zverev wasn't very complimentary of his opponent, something he faced plenty of criticism for. On top of that, he was angry about the balls in use, both during and after the match.
During the changeover after the third game of the second set, Zverev threw one of the balls at the supervisor, complaining about its quality. The ATP World No. 2 player has been one of the loudest critics of the balls in use.
After the match, Zverev spoke about the topic again, explaining that he just can't hit winners or get any easy points with the balls that are currently being used in Rome.
"Today was difficult for me to hit winners. It was very slow, very, very heavy. The balls were getting very big. Even though I had my chances, I was up three set points, four set points in the first set on my serve. Usually, I should win that set, and then we'll see."
"Yeah, like I said, it was difficult today. Balls were a joke today. Generally speaking this is a subject we've had over the last three, four years now. Players are talking about it all the time. They say we play with the same ball in Monaco, Madrid, Munich. Then we come here and the ball is totally different."
"The ball is very, very big. It's very difficult to hit winners here. It's just how it is these days. Of course, for me, for my game style, today was not easy because at the end of the day I'm still somebody that tries to play aggressive. I'm still somebody that tries to serve very fast. That's how it is. It's difficult to get free points today."
Although Zverev was happy about his level against Arthur Fils, he knew that the way he played against Musetti wasn't sufficient to record a win. Still, he wants to move on and focus on the French Open.
"The match with Fils yesterday was very high level. Today I think the level dropped a lot. But it is how it is. As I said, conditions were not the easiest for me, for my game style. I think they benefited him a lot. That's how it is. That's tennis. I have to move forward and I have to plan myself to Paris and do the best that I can there."
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