Alexander Zverev beats Frenchman Térence Atmane in Madrid. Now a seeded opponent awaits. But Zverev’s body is causing concern.
A debate with the chair umpire, whistles from the crowd – and finally physical problems: Germany’s tennis star Alexander Zverev has made it to the round of 16 at the ATP Masters in Madrid against all odds.
The world number three had no problems with Frenchman Térence Atmane for a long time in the third round; after a slightly more complicated second set, the Hamburg native ultimately won the first encounter with the left-hander 6:3, 7:6 (7:2).
Zverev reveals problems, but doesn’t go into details
“I had a few physical problems in the second set. I won’t say what it is,“ said Zverev after the match: ”I played a very good match up to 6:3, 5:2. Let’s see what it is. I hope I can play tomorrow.”
In the round of the best 16, Zverev, who is preparing in Madrid for the clay court highlight of the French Open (May 24 to June 7), would be playing in the tournament for the first time. June), would face a seeded player for the first time in the tournament; Zverev has yet to play 20-year-old Jakub Mensik (Czech Republic/No. 23).
In Madrid, Zverev is in the round of 16 for the ninth time, having triumphed in the Caja Magica in 2018 and 2021.
Zverev initially looked much more confident against Atmane in the evening session than in the opener against Argentinian Mariano Navone, whom he only managed to beat in three sets. On Monday, Zverev was not in serious danger for a long time, he made few mistakes and played extremely powerfully.
Exciting scene around Zverev
At 6:3, 4:2 and 15:0, Zverev’s service game then led to an exciting scene. The German had seen a forehand shot from Atmane out of bounds and raised his arms gesticulating while the ball was still being exchanged. A short time later, the Frenchman secured the point with a forehand winner. Zverev had virtually stopped playing during the rally.
The German number one pointed to a ball mark near the baseline and began to argue with chair umpire Marijana Veljovic. The Serbian referred to the electronic line calling system and said to Zverev: “You know, I have to go by what the system decides.”
Whistles against Zverev
However, the player from Hamburg continued his discussion, which the crowd in Madrid responded to with a roar of whistles. “You must be allowed to look at the print if it’s such a serious mistake,” Zverev got upset: “It wasn’t even close! That’s a joke.”
Zverev still won the service game, but the anger was far from gone at the change of sides. The world number three kept talking to Veljovic. Zverev still felt disadvantaged.
After leading 5:2 and missing his first match point, he was obviously handicapped and lost his serve after all and had to go into “extra time” against Atmane. After 1:37 hours, Zverev converted his third match point.
Before Zverev, only world number one Jannik Sinner had reached the round of 16 at each of the four Masters tournaments so far this year. The Italian also won the titles in Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo, beating Zverev in the semi-finals on the way. In Madrid, a clash is only possible in the final.