Next setback in a difficult season: The battered Alexander Zverev also had an early end at the ATP Masters in Shanghai.
As in the first round of Wimbledon, the Hamburg surprisingly lost to the Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech – and revealed physical problems again.
6: 4, 3: 6, 2: 6, it was said after a disappointing performance from the German perspective. Zverev thus missed the round of 16 in the Chinese metropolis and, as with the quarter-finals, conceded a damper in Tokyo. Rinderknech now meets the world rankings 19. Jiri Lehecka from the Czech Republic.
Zverev goes on the gums
Zverev noticeably goes on the gums in the late phase of the season. In his tedious two -round victory over the qualifier Valentin Royer, the German had sued for pain on the right toe – and his back has also been troubled by him for weeks.
At least he moved smoothly against Rinderknech at the beginning and found well into the game.
Only the first set was good
An early break brought security and the serves came properly – the German got the first sentence without getting into trouble. But then Zverev acted despite. He gave the second round almost without resistance. Rinderknech was now fully on the height and used Zverev’s mistakes.
Rinderknech puts pressure on Zverev and wins
The Frenchman also stayed on the accelerator pedal in the decision set and did not miss the victory after a quick break, also because Zverev was now significantly weakened. He couldn’t oppose anything in Shanghai’s humid heat in Shanghai again.
For Zverev it was not the first disappointment against Rinderknech this year: he had already failed in the first round of Wimbledon on the 30-year-old and then complained about mental problems. After a long break, the Masters 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati went uphill again with twice semi-finals. But neither the US Open (from round three) nor recently in Beijing Zverev got beyond the quarter -finals.