tennis
Favorite Zverev out of the quarter-finals in Munich
Missed the semi-finals in Munich: Alexander Zverev. photo
© Sven Hoppe/dpa
Tennis ace wanted to take revenge in Munich for the disappointments of the past few years. But this time too he is eliminated early. In the quarterfinals he doesn’t just struggle with his opponent.
Top favorite Alexander Zverev is at the ATP tennis tournament Munich was eliminated in the quarterfinals. The world number five lost to the Chilean Cristian Garin 4:6, 4:6 and, as in previous years, experienced disappointment at the BMW Open.
In cold, wet conditions and drizzle, the Olympic champion couldn’t find a cure against the South American, who played variably and fought courageously, one day before his 27th birthday. He also repeatedly complained loudly about the slippery ash surface.
Zverev had already lost to Garin in the quarterfinals in Munich in 2019, who then won the tournament. In the past two years, the best German tennis professional had even failed in his opening matches in the round of 16. This time he wanted to take revenge and celebrate his third success in the Bavarian capital after 2017 and 2018 – but that failed.
Ranting Zverev wants an interruption
The wind blew rain over the facility on Aumeisterweg and the Hamburg native had a hard time against the world number 106: Zverev could be heard complaining again and again. The Chilean beat Zverev’s Davis Cup colleague Dominik Koepfer in the first round. Against the number one seed, Garin was constantly successful with unnerving stop balls on the damp surface.
In the second round, Zverev had heated discussions with the referee and the ATP supervisor because, to the German’s chagrin, they did not interrupt the game despite the rain. “It’s been raining non-stop for three and a half hours. I’m sliding back and forth here. When are you going to do something?” he told the referee during a break. After exactly 2:00 hours his defeat was clear.
Garin will face Taylor Fritz in the semifinals. The number three seeded American won his quarterfinals 4:6, 6:3, 7:6 (7:1) against Briton Jack Draper.