Alexander Zverev gave a brutally honest assessment of his performance after suffering a shock early exit at the Monte Carlo Masters. The tournament’s top seed was upset by Matteo Berrettini in a tense opening match, losing 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 in just over two and a half hours.
Zverev, who has struggled to find consistency since reaching the Australian Open final in January, called his performance “terrible,” admitting he drastically dropped his level after losing serve midway through the second set. “I played a great first set, and once I got broken in the second, I dropped ten levels. My ball was slower. I stopped hitting the ball,” Zverev said. “It’s the same story the last few months. Nothing changes. I lost this match again.”
The world No. 2 now holds a 6-6 record since Melbourne and has failed to advance past the quarterfinals at any event since February. The German star was clearly frustrated, stating, “It’s been the worst period since my injury.”
When a reporter suggested his third-set level wasn’t as poor as he claimed, Zverev didn’t hold back. “Sorry, that was a question? I thought it was a statement. If you say so. I thought my level was terrible.”
Meanwhile, Berrettini, ranked No. 34, had a different perspective. The former Wimbledon finalist praised Zverev’s fast start but said he focused on staying mentally tough and turning the tide. “In the first set, Sascha was playing really high-level tennis,” Berrettini said. “To switch the momentum, I had to push hard mentally and believe in my strokes.”
Commenting on Zverev’s negative self-review, Berrettini added: “It’s never easy to be sharp after a tough loss. But I felt the momentum shift when I started being more aggressive. He started losing some ground, and that’s when things turned.”
Berrettini’s win marks one of the biggest of his comeback season and sends him into the third round in Monte Carlo, while Zverev is left searching for answers in what’s becoming a difficult spring campaign.
