When victory in Madrid
Zverev desperately – and discusses with the referee
04/27/2025 – 6:25 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
Alexander Zverev demonstrated nerve strength in Madrid and won after a false start. In the meantime, a breakdown brought him to despair.
After a false start and a lot of trouble about the HAWK Eye, Alexander Zverev fought himself in the round of 16 of the ATP master in Madrid. The world ranking second from Hamburg prevailed against the Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 2: 6, 7: 6 (7: 3), 7: 6 (7: 0) and thus celebrated its seventh success in a row. The tremor victory, in which Zverev rose with the referee, revealed how fragile Zverev’s game and psyche are still despite the title in Munich.
“It was a day with many up and down. He was outstanding in the first sentence, I played terribly,” said Zverev, who had lost the first ten points of the match about the Spanish opponent: “I didn’t know what happened, I did everything, left, right, middle.”
After 2:44 hours of play, the 28-year-old achieved the decisive point win-with the first match ball. Ex-footballer Toni Kroos also followed the dramatic course in Zverev’s box. This was preceded by a strangely stubborn start, anxious moments in the second set and a long discussion with referee Mohamed Lahyani.
Zverev despaired the technology that saw a narrow ball from Davidovich Fokina on the line. He got his cell phone out of his pocket to photograph the impression, but he was as powerless as Lahyani.
After all, Zverev did not lose his nerves, but got the sentence compensation on the court, where he had already won the title in 2018 and 2021 and which he describes as one of his favorite places. In the decisive round, Zverev continued to play hesitantly, but davidovich fokina broke to 5: 4. But he couldn’t get out, he gave his serve to zero and had to go back to the tie -break.
In the round of 16, Zverev now meets the winner of the game between Francisco Cerúndolo and Francisco Commesana. Against both Argentinians, he had to accept defeats on sand this year: against Cerúndolo in Buenos Aires and against Comesana in Rio de Janeiro.