Alexander Zverev reveals eye-opening explanation for early elimination at Hamburg Open

Alexander Zverev entered the ATP 500 event in Hamburg as the top favorite to win the title, especially after the withdrawal of World No. 1 Jannik Sinner. However, on Wednesday, he suffered an early exit in the round of 16 and offered a surprisingly candid explanation for the loss.

“For the fact that I threw up 37 times and had a fever of 39.4 degrees (102.9 °F) all night, that’s actually quite okay,” Zverev revealed, explaining how he had been extremely ill in the hours leading up to his match against Alexandre Muller. Still, playing in his home country and in front of German fans, he made the effort to compete. “I think there are two players in the whole world who would have taken to the court today. I’m one of them. And I’m really proud of that.”

While it’s clear that illness impacted his performance, Alexander fought hard and came close to pulling off the win. “I was two points away from winning the match. There’s a lot to be said in my favour,” he stated.

Regarding the 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 loss, the World No. 3 gave credit to Alexandre Muller. “I think I played a solid and good match. But he realised at some point that I wasn’t feeling well and then went on playing the points for as long as possible. That was clever on his part,” said the German star.

Alexandre Muller advanced to the Hamburg Open quarterfinals.

Zverev satisfied with his showing in Hamburg

Although Zverev entered Hamburg aiming to capitalize on his top-seed status and secure a title that would earn valuable ATP Ranking points, he didn’t sound discouraged following his round-of-16 loss to Muller.

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“I think my tennis has generally been going in the right direction in recent weeks. I showed good tennis in Rome, and here too,” he said, making it clear that his focus is now on the next major challenge: Roland Garros. “I’m just trying to prepare as good as possible. There are no very specific things at the moment, it’s more about the big picture.”

Zverev shifts focus to the French Open

The early exit in Hamburg could have been a tough setback for Zverev, especially when added to some recent underwhelming performances. However, he chose an optimistic outlook and focused on the positives from the Muller match.

“Maybe it’s actually a good thing that I now have a few days to control the strain a little,” he said, referring to the upcoming French Open. “I’ll get healthy first and then see. But nothing will change for me for Paris. I still want to show good tennis there and win a lot of matches.”