Masters 1000 in Rome
Despite illness: Zverev storms into the round of 16
May 10, 2026 – 3:47 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Alexander Zverev is not only fighting against his opponents at the clay court tournament in Rome, but also against a fever. It is not yet clear who he will face in the round of 16.
Sick but dominant: World number three Alexander Zverev reached the round of 16 at the Masters 1000 tournament in Rome. He defeated the Belgian Alexander Blockx 6:1, 6:4 – in just 74 minutes.
Just two days earlier, Zverev had appeared physically weak in the German duel against Daniel Altmaier. There was no sign of this against Blockx. In windy conditions, thanks to a lightning start, he quickly led with a break and 3-0. When the score was 3:1, he survived the only pressure situation on his own serve and took Blockx’s serve again to make it 5:1.
Zverev said afterwards during the winner’s interview on the pitch: “I feel a little better. I think you can tell from my voice that I’m still a little sick. But I have my energy back.”
He had already explained on Sky on Friday: “I’m just a person who gets sick sometimes. Played a lot of tennis, my immune system is probably down a bit.” He “had a fever the last few nights.”
In the second set, Zverev continued his offensive style. He moved to the net and took Blockx’s serve in the first game. Most recently he defeated the Belgian in the semi-finals in Madrid with 6:2, 7:5 – this time the result was even clearer.
In the round of 16, Zverev will now face the American Tommy Paul or the Italian Luciano Darderi. His big goal for the season is the French Open, which starts on May 24th in Paris. The 2021 Olympic champion is still waiting for his first Grand Slam title.
