“The stadium was empty” – Fans brutally bash ATP as Alexander Zverev expresses concern over poor scheduling at China Open

Alexander Zverev complains about playing so late and change of courts would have been better.

“The stadium was empty” – Fans brutally bash ATP as Alexander Zverev expresses concern over poor scheduling at China Open

Alexander Zverev (Credits: TennisHead)

Alexander Zverev expressed his worry about the China Open‘s scheduling issues given that his match went on until three in the morning. Zverev faced Alejandro Davidovic Fokina in the second round of the China Open at midnight. This absurd scheduling on the part of the tournament authorities garnered criticism from many tennis fans on X (formerly Twitter).

Zverev expressed his frustration with the schedule in the post-match interview. The German shared his joy at winning but admitted that playing till 3 a.m. was difficult for him. He questioned the decision to play on one court at such late hours as opposed to using the other, free courts. The 26-year-old believes that starting the match earlier on another court would have been considerably more convenient.

YouTube video

He said, “I’m happy with the win. Obviously, it’s difficult to play til 3 a.m. I’m not sure it was the right call to keep us on this court. I think we should’ve changed courts. We should’ve gone on. There are so many great courts in the stadium. So many opportunities where we could’ve played. I’m not sure we should’ve waited till past midnight to start the match, to be honest.”

FS Video

Many fans agreed with Zverev’s statements. They are also of the view that players should not be subjected to play at such odd hours in the night. Some fans even called starting the match after midnight “ridiculous”.

One fan commented, “He’s so right. Ridiculous starting a match at midnight. The stadium was empty like it was with Covid.”

https://x.com/EquipePaquette/status/1708230216257048634?s=20

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Alexander Zverev makes it to the quarterfinal of the China Open

Alexander Zverev reached the last of eight of the China Open by defeating Alejandro Davidovic Fokina in an intense match. He had previously defeated Diego Schwartzman in the first round. In both matches the eighth seed went on to lose the opening tiebreak to become the victor in the next two sets.

Alexander Zverev
Alexander Zverev (Credits: USOpen.org)

Zverev saved a single break point against him in a commanding last two sets after dropping an extended first set that contained six breaks of serve.

This is the German’s tenth quarterfinal of the season. He has recently come into action after suffering from an injury before. It’s also interesting to note that he has climbed to the top ten for the first time after 2022, following his quarterfinal run at the US Open this year.

He will be facing Chilean player Nicolas Jarry in his next match which is the quarterfinal.

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