Tennis player Alexander Zverev had to end his hopes of a third tournament victory at the Masters in Madrid early. The Olympic champion somewhat surprisingly lost his round of 16 match on Tuesday against Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo 3:6, 4:6. The 27-year-old won the clay court tournament in the Spanish capital in 2018 and 2021 and had already reached the quarter-finals five times. Despite a strong performance, Jan-Lennard Struff missed a big surprise and lost to Carlos Alcaraz 3:6, 7:6 (7:5), 6:7 (4:7).
“This is disappointing for me because it is in Madrid. This is a tournament that I really enjoy and where I have the feeling that I can always win,” said Zverev on the pay-TV channel Sky about his appearance. Shortly after the match, the fifth-placed player in the world rankings was unable to give any concrete reasons for his exit: “It’s confusing for me when I have the ball on my racket like this, that I then lose 3:6, 4:6.” The German complained that he served hard and confidently and “still felt a bit without a chance on the court”: “I haven’t had that for a long time in my tennis career.”
Zverev didn’t play with enough variety to put the tactically disciplined Cerundolo in more trouble in the first direct duel. Two breaks were enough for the Argentine to make it 5:3 (1st set) and 2:1 (2nd set) to secure his place in the top eight after an hour and a half. There the 25-year-old will meet Taylor Fritz from the USA. Zverev has lost three of his seven matches so far in this year’s clay court season. The Hamburg native doesn’t have much time left until the French Open in Paris, which begins on May 26th, to get into title shape.
Zverev’s Davis Cup teammate Struff always kept up in his round of 16 duel with the Spanish world number three Alcaraz. In the second set, the 34-year-old Sauerlander made up a break deficit and secured passage in the tie-break. In the decisive set, the 20-year-old Alcaraz, with his nerves strong, prevailed after a total of 2:50 hours.