Alexander Zverev struggles with technology, his opponent, and himself—but still advances to the next round in Madrid.
With anger, prominent support, and a good dose of luck, Alexander Zverev avoided an early exit from the clay court Masters in Madrid. At 2-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-0), the Hamburg native was frustrated by the technology, which had seen a close ball from his opponent Alejandro Davidovich Fokina very differently than he had: on the line. Zverev took his cell phone out of his pocket and photographed the mark.
This earned him a warning. At least the 28-year-old didn’t lose his nerve and initially won the tiebreak to level the set and then, after 2 hours and 44 minutes, the next one too. In his box, celebrity fan Toni Kroos also celebrated Zverev’s seventh victory in a row.
“It was a day with many ups and downs. He was outstanding in the first set, I played terribly,” said Zverev, who lost the first ten points of the match: ‘I didn’t know what was happening, I missed everything, left, right, center.’
Zverev not yet in shape for French Open
The week before, Zverev had fought his way out of a slump by winning the tournament in Munich, and he wants to follow up in Madrid, where the odds are in his favor like rarely before. Industry leader Jannik Sinner (Italy) is suspended, and Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) is injured. Grand Slam record champion Novak Djokovic (Serbia) and defending champion Andrej Rublev have already been eliminated.
Nevertheless, it won’t be any easier in Madrid. In the round of 16, Zverev will face Francisco Cerúndolo, the Argentine who defeated him on clay in Buenos Aires earlier this year, when he also got into a dispute with the crowd. However, this is a good opportunity for revenge and to gain momentum for the big goal of the season.
Zverev seeks another outlet
Zverev is not yet in form for the French Open in Paris (starting May 25), where he has his best chance of winning his first Grand Slam title. He couldn’t have complained about a defeat against the awkward Davidovich Fokina.
The first set completely passed Zverev by, and he only woke up at 0:4, but remained strangely hesitant. In the second set, Davidovich Fokina, who was being cheered on by the Spanish fans in the Caja Mágica, missed a great chance to break to 5:4 when his easy backhand landed in the net, allowing Zverev to breathe a sigh of relief, but he preferred to look for another outlet.
Zverev was not at all happy with the decision of the “electronic line calling” system, which has recently been introduced on clay. Even after the set was tied, he was still annoyed by the mark, even though Zverev himself had once called for technical assistance on his favorite surface. “I think it’s good because there are no more wrong decisions,” he said. Now he sensed a “flaw in the system.”
