Alexander Zverev fell to yet another defeat against Jannik Sinner as he was soundly beaten in the Madrid Open final. After the match, the German shared a possible reason for his 6-1, 6-2 defeat.
Zverev was no match against Sinner in Sunday’s Madrid Open final. The 29-year-old was looking to win the ATP Masters 1000 tournament for the third time in his career but was beaten in less than an hour by a dominant Sinner.
Alexander Zverev Explains Possible Reason For Latest Defeat to Jannik Sinner
The defeat marked Zverev’s fourth against Sinner in the last six weeks. After the match, he gave the press some insight into a possible reason for his loss to the Italian.
Zverev shared that two-week tournaments like the Madrid Open can also be very difficult for players mentally.
“Two-week events are difficult mentally. You have to stay focused for longer. I like to play night matches, but I feel jet-lagged a little bit. During the last week, I’ve been going to bed before 4 a.m. just one time. So it’s difficult,” Zverev said during his post-match press conference.
He added that, after playing back-to-back night matches, the transition to a day match for the final was not easy for him. In the semifinals, Sinner played the day session against Arthur Fils, while Zverev’s match against Alexander Blockx was scheduled for 8 p.m. local time.
“I also feel like if that happens that the night matches are more popular with the crowd, but then the final should also be a night match, because then I feel that it’s more fair towards both players. When it’s a day match and you’ve played night all week, it’s so difficult. Against Jannik, it’s difficult always, no matter where it is or how you’re playing. But with the backstory, it was just impossible,” he said.
The defeat means that Zverev’s wait for his 25th ATP Tour title extends to 13 months. He has also lost his last three tour finals, with two of those defeats coming against Sinner. He has also lost each of his last 9 matches against the Italian.
Zverev showcased some strong performances in Madrid, soundly defeating Fabio Cobolli and Alexander Blockx. But Sinner managed to get the better of him once again in the final to win a record fifth straight ATP Masters 1000 title.
As he gets ready for the Italian Open and the French Open, Zverev will know that he will have to find a way past his rival quickly if he wants to turn his fortunes around. He remains third in the ATP rankings and will hold a 1100-point lead over Novak Djokovic when the rankings are updated on Monday.
But he also finds himself more than 7000 points behind Carlos Alcaraz, who is sidelined for the rest of the clay-court season with a wrist injury.
