Germany’s tennis star Alexander Zverev has lambasted the schedule of the Paris Olympics after his title defence ended with a defeat in the quarterfinal. The tennis event in the competition is coming towards its conclusion as the remaining players are giving their all to secure the ultimate prize.
Zverev, who was defending his crown at the Paris Olympics, was one of the favourites to go all the way, not only because he won the competition four years back but also because he had a fabulous French Open earlier this year at the same venue where he lost in the final in a five-set thriller to Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz. However, his journey ended in the quarterfinal as he suffered a defeat in the quarterfinal to Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 7-5. Talking after the match, Zverev lambasted the competition organisers for the schedule. The world number four stated that he ‘angry’ and called the schedule a ‘disgrace’. 0
“I’m so angry, I can’t even tell you. The scheduling is a disgrace,” he said. “I didn’t feel good the whole week and the second round I felt horrible on the court after a set. Today I felt horrible by the end of the first set. It’s upsetting. It’s not how I physically want to be. I always took big pride in the fact that I thought I was one of the strongest physical players out there. It definitely was not the case this week and I have to see. I’m gonna go back home and do some blood tests and see if everything is OK. And if everything is OK, then take some rest and hopefully get back in good shape.”
Musetti will now face Serbia’s legendary tennis star, Novak Djokovic, in the semifinal of the mega-event on Friday. The 37-year-old, who is often regarded as the greatest player in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category in the Open era, defeated Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6.