Alexander Zverev gets off to a rocky start in his hard-court season in his first match since Wimbledon. He suffers a break in the second set.
Alexander Zverev kicked off his hard-court season with a major setback. In his first match since losing the Wimbledon final, the world No. 3 lost 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 4-6 to Dutch player Tallon Griekspoor after a lackluster performance. This means the ATP Masters in Montréal is already over for the 29-year-old.
Zverev hadn’t expected a stellar performance from himself, but was nonetheless negatively surprised. “To be honest, I didn’t expect to play this badly either,” he emphasized afterward. He went on to say it had been “the worst match of the season.”
“Tennis has its ups and downs. I’m very satisfied with how the last few months have gone. Now it’s about getting back to that form,” the German said, putting his surprising exit into perspective.
Alexander Zverev Gets Off to a Rough Start in the Hard-Court Season
Zverev had hoped to use the back-to-back Masters titles in Montréal and Cincinnati to prepare for the US Open, which begins in late August. As he had already announced, he didn’t expect to play his best tennis in Canada. His first-round exit against Griekspoor still came as a surprise, especially given his performance over the past few months, including his French Open victory. Zverev repeatedly grew frustrated and argued with his coaching staff.
In Montréal, he was the top seed. Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz is out with an injury. World No. 1 Jannik Sinner—to whom Zverev lost at the All England Club about four weeks ago—and Novak Djokovic both voluntarily withdrew from the tournament. Zverev subsequently criticized the Masters event, which is usually played over two weeks. In addition, second-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime withdrew at the last minute due to injury.
“To be in top form, some players need to play more rounds, while others need fewer,” Zverev said. “I’m definitely one of those who need the competition, and that’s why I’m playing.”
Zverev helps a spectator suffering from the heat
The first set offered few highlights and only one break point—at 5-6 against Zverev, which would have won the set. The Hamburg native fended it off and kept his cool in the tiebreak. After that, it was a completely different story: Zverev lost his first two service games and surrendered the set almost without a fight.
Zverev’s finest moment of the day came in the third set. He handed a chilled towel and water to a spectator who was feeling unwell due to the midday sun and 30-degree heat. The crowd applauded, and the man left the court to seek further treatment. After Zverev was broken to fall behind 2–3, another fan collapsed—leading to the next interruption.
After Zverev saved another break point, he managed to break back to tie the score at 4–4. However, he was unable to hold his serve. After 2 hours and 34 minutes, Griekspoor converted his first match point to win.