Alexander Zverev suffered a stunning early exit at the Italian Open in Rome, falling to Italian wildcard Matteo Arnaldi in the fourth round. The German, who held a match point and four set points in the second-set tiebreak, eventually lost 6-1, 6-7(10), 0-6 on Tuesday.
After the match, a visibly frustrated Zverev opened up about his performance and the playing conditions. “I felt tired, whether it’s because of illness or too many matches — that’s one factor,” Zverev said. “I should have won in two sets, but then things went the other way. In the third set, he played great tennis, but I should have sealed it in two.”
When asked about the wind affecting play, Zverev did not hold back his criticism of the court quality. “It was really tough today. Honestly, I think this is the worst court I’ve ever played on — in juniors, pro tournaments, challengers, even in training. I’ve never experienced such poor surface quality. I had match points, but the ball bounced over my head. On break points, the ball rolled awkwardly. Yes, the wind was strong too. But overall, I still believe I should have won in straight sets. Later on, he played brilliantly.”
The defeat marks a disappointing end to Zverev’s Rome campaign, as he was considered one of the tournament favorites. Arnaldi, ranked outside the top 100, delivered the biggest win of his career in front of a passionate home crowd.