Zverev’s reasons for his crusade against Madrid’s ‘after hours’

The final of the Mutua Madrid Open elevated Carlos Alcaraz as the new phenomenon of world tennis. Murcian showed he was at the top with the biggest on the circuit and added his fourth title of the season after defeating Alexander Zverev (6-3, 6-1) in a final little is known about to the more than 10,000 spectators who packed the Manolo Santana track at Caja Mágica.

The nearly 62 minutes it took Alcaraz to proclaim himself champion surprised locals and strangers, who expected a fight at the same level as the previous two duels, against Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Zverev endured the Spanish player’s push to 2-2 of the first set, where a portion of 10 games began until 2 ended in battles.

The Teuton was turned off, fallón and relatively indifferent, an incident that appeared in the press room. “Now I have no coordination with my serve, or with my groundstroke. I missed two shots very easily because I was looking at the ball and everything was moving. I don’t want to take anything away from Carlos, even if he’s still fresh, he probably won’t beat him, but he’s definitely more fit.“resentment of seeing the world’s number 3 corrupt.

Zverev complained about the evening schedules associated with him in this and other tournaments, which “took away chances” to win. “The ATP work this week was an absolute disaster. Two days ago I went to bed at four -thirty, yesterday at two -thirty.. If any normal person sleeps one night at four and then at five, they will have a hard time staying awake. ”

And that’s it the organization has scheduled its matches, both quarterfinals and semifinals, at the last turn of the night session in the central court, which on Friday began after 8:00 pm in the match between Tsitsipas and Rublev, and on Saturday around 11:00 pm after the accumulated delay for the duration of the semifinal between Alcaraz and Djokovic and the women’s final between Jabeur and Pegula whose association was between two men’s matches, an unusual decision in a mixed contestwho typically schedule two semifinals in a row.

“I’m sorry for the final we played, because it could have been a very good game. Most of the people in the stadium wanted Carlos to win, but no one wants to see a fight like this. I am a person. I am not a robot. not allowed. I just can’t keep up when it happens every night“complained Zverev, who recalled that” I have no chance to be myself, to play at my level. This is not the first time this has happened. In Acapulco I played until five in the morning and stayed up until eight -thirty. That happens every week and I’m a little tired“.

“Programming needs to be improved. Yesterday I started my fight at eleven o’clock at night and I played three sets. While I’m back at the hotel, I’m having dinner, I do my work with the physio, it’s five o’clock in the morning.“, added Zverev who, already in the warm-up, commented to his coach Sergi Bruguera that he does not have the right rhythm.

“They’re taking chances from me and at the end of the day no one remembers those things. Nobody talks about it. Everyone says: Yeah, it’s a bad game, I double faulted, I didn’t play well and all that. But you have to look at what has happened in the past few days, what is behind the scenes. I think this is not fair“he concludes.