Alexander Zverev Echoes Roger Federer’s Sentiments on the Tournament Directors’ Bias Towards Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

Alexander Zverev secured his opening round win in Shanghai Masters.

Alexander Zverev Echoes Roger Federer’s Sentiments on the Tournament Directors’ Bias Towards Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

Roger Federer, Alexander Zverev (Image via X/We Are Tennis France, The Tennis Letter)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Alexander Zverev has openly called out the tournament directors for showing bias towards Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. The German ace claimed that the court speeds are facilitated to aid the current top two players in the world.

Zverev was talking to the media after his opening-round win in Shanghai against Valentin Royer. A title win in China would ensure qualification for the ATP Finals.

I hate when [court speeds are] the same. And I know that the tournament directors are going towards that direction because obviously they want Jannik and Carlos to do well every tournament…we always had different surfaces — you couldn’t play the same tennis the same way on a grass court, hard court and a clay court. Nowadays you can play almost the same way on every surface.

These are almost the same sentiments that Roger Federer shared just a few weeks ago at the Laver Cup. The two-time Shanghai Masters champion was speaking in an open-air podcast with Andy Roddick, where he discussed the influence of tournament directors in ensuring the final between Alcaraz and Sinner.

Regardless of that, Zverev has a huge opportunity this week to get to the finals of Shanghai with Alcaraz withdrawing from the tournament at the last minute. The German has escaped Sinner and Novak Djokovic in the top half of the draw.

Alexander Zverev takes a medical timeout while serving for the match at Shanghai

World No.3 Alexander Zverev caused concern during his Shanghai Masters match when he appeared to injure himself while serving for victory. The third seed was leading qualifier Valentin Royer 6-4, 5-4 when he bent over in pain after hitting a winning serve.

Alexander Zverev Laver Cup
Alexander Zverev (via Punto de Break)

The umpire immediately called the physio, surprising commentators as Zverev limped toward his bench. He explained that the problem was with his toe. The physio examined it, pressing on different areas and asking where it hurt.

An option to tape the toe was offered, but Zverev chose not to. He slipped his shoe back on and returned to the court without treatment. Despite the scare, he showed little discomfort and finished the game confidently.

Zverev closed out the match 6-4, 6-4, holding serve to love. At the net, Royer wished him well after the sudden issue. The physio spoke with him again once the match ended, and Zverev planned to get the toe checked in the training room.

Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev tied in the ATP Race to Turin

The ATP Race to Turin is heating up at the Shanghai Masters. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have already qualified for the ultimate final showdown in Italy, and they are looking over their shoulders to see who joins them in Turin.

Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev (via X/The Tennis Letter)
Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev (via X/The Tennis Letter)

The next in line are likely to be Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev, who are both currently tied at the No.3 spot with 4230 points each. The Serbian great has only won one ATP title this year, which was his 100th overall in Geneva. Djokovic reached all the four Grand Slam semifinals this year, which gives him enough cushion to make himself eligible for Italy.

On the other hand, Zverev started the season really well after reaching the Australian Open final. However, he couldn’t repeat those performances later on, as early exits at Wimbledon and the US Open seemed to have created huge dents in his season.

The duo has a combined nine ATP Finals between them. They have played once in the tournament final, which took place in 2018. Zverev won in straight sets to register his first ATP Finals title of his career.

Also Read: Coco Gauff Shares her Opinion on the Debate Surrounding Packed Tennis Scheduling