Masters tournament in Rome: Zverev misses match points and then loses 0:6 – Search for answers

After all, Alexander Zverev saved in a small golf cart on Tuesday afternoon. Hardly anything worked in the final half hour of this round of 16 game at the Masters in Rome: In the BNP Paribas Arena, the smaller center court on the Foro Italico facility, the Italian celebration got louder and louder from point to point. 24-year-old Luciano Darderi won the third round 6-0 against Zverev. He showed outstanding tennis against number three in the world rankings, in front of a frenetic home crowd that accompanied the triumph, 1:6, 7:6, 6:0, over almost two and a half hours.

In the end, Zverev, on the other hand, had no choice but to quickly escape: Darderi was still busy packing up his things on the bench when his defeated opponent was already on his way to the waiting golf cart, which took him as quickly as possible towards the changing room and the interview zone. Zverev stayed there for just over two minutes and said goodbye to an unexpected break with a few short explanations.

“I should have won the match in two sets,” the 29-year-old said several times and was visibly frustrated. The impressive third round was of course an issue, with 0:6 Zverev had only lost a set once since 2023, against Jannik Sinner in the final of the indoor tournament in Paris last November: “The third set clearly went to him, he played fantastic tennis,” said Zverev, who at least refused to try to escape from this defeat.

The partisan audience, said Zverev, was “fair” despite the regular heckling: “I have no problem with the Italian fans. I enjoy that. I think they are energetic. They are passionate about their own players, that’s completely fine.” They have already supported Zverev in his career: he won the title in Rome in 2017 and 2024, which is why he is certain of the respect of the Italians. He nevertheless expressed criticism of the tournament.

“This court – I think it’s the worst court I’ve ever played on. Whether for juniors, professionals, futures or in training: I’ve never played on a court that was in such bad condition,” said Zverev and described several scenes: “I have a match point and the ball jumps over my head. I have a break ball and the ball just rolls away.” Zverev is not the first to criticize the facility’s second largest court this week. Zverev’s side lost the ball a total of four times during the match, sometimes at crucial points. The fact that this half of the court was prepared once, at the end of the close second set, when Darderi played there was also remarkable.

In his short interview, Zverev gave another reason for the defeat in three sets. He had dragged himself through the tournament the past few days with an illness, but still played the doubles with his partner Marcelo Melo the day before (and lost in two sets): “I got tired,” said Zverev: “Whether it was the illness or simply because I played a lot of tennis… it’s certainly one of the reasons.”

Since the Masters tournament in Indian Wells at the beginning of March, Zverev had made at least the semi-finals in each of his appearances, and the long hours spent in these matches were also noticeable. And there may also be a small glimmer of hope in this: “Maybe this is a bit of a ray of hope in a bad moment,” said Zverev: “I can now rest and recharge and then go into the French Open with 100 percent.” The second Grand Slam tournament of the year begins on May 24th in Paris, before that Zverev will compete in Hamburg. And, possibly more good news, we won’t be meeting Jannik Sinner again for a few weeks at the earliest.

In four of the last five tournaments this spring, Zverev lost in the semi-finals or finals against Sinner, the currently outstanding Italian, who also went through his first three rounds in Rome without losing a set. The world number one currently seems unbeatable: “Yes, that is currently the case,” Zverev also admitted, but then left Rome with a combative, if somewhat fatalistic, announcement: “I just have to believe that I can beat him. I just have to believe it, otherwise we can hand him the trophy straight away without playing the tournament.”