Alexander Zverev raged against the balls in Rome, among other things. © ANSA / Domenico Cippitelli

After exit in Rome: Alexander Zverev loses his temper

After his defeat against Lorenzo Musetti, tennis star Alexander Zverev was furious.

15 May 2025

From: dpa/det

The German superstar complained about the balls after his exit from the tournament in Rome and took a verbal swipe at his opponent Lorenzo Musetti. "The balls were a joke today. They say we play with the same balls in Monaco, Madrid, and Munich. Then we come here and the balls are completely different. They're very big. It's difficult to hit winners here," said Zverev.

The 28-year-old had previously lost his quarterfinal against Musetti 6:7 (1:7), 4:6. He had to write off his title defense at the Masters tournament in the Italian capital with the defeat against the Italian.

Semi-final duel in Paris with Sinner looms

As a result, Zverev will lose second place in the world rankings. At the French Open (May 25 to June 8) in Paris, a duel with world number one Jannik Sinner from South Tyrol could be possible as early as the semifinals.

Zverev said the winner, Musetti, also benefited from his numerous errors. "He's very dependent on his defense. He's very dependent on his opponents making mistakes," Zverev said. Both players hit 2 winners in the match, which lasted 16 hours, 20 minutes. While Musetti made only 22 unforced errors, Zverev made 36.