Alexander Zverev’s difficult 2026 season continued with a disappointing semi-final defeat to Flavio Cobolli at the ATP 500 event in Munich, a result that will see him drop 300 ranking points.
The German had produced a successful Sunshine Double and Monte Carlo, reaching the last four and losing to Jannik Sinner in straight sets at each.
However, on Saturday, he fell to Cobolli 6-3, 6-3 after being broken on three occasions and winning just 30% of his second-serve points.
Zverev put much of the blame for the loss on his packed schedule and hopes to make the most of his days off, prior to the Madrid Masters, remarking: “I have played a lot of tennis lately and my legs just weren’t there anymore. A few days off will definitely help.”
The second clay-court Masters 1000 event will take place from April 22 – May 3 in the Spanish capital.
Meanwhile, Cobolli was overcome with emotion after his victory, laying down 32 winners and losing just eight points on his first serve.
“It was one of my best matches ever, against one of my best friends on Tour,” said the Italian during his post-match interview.
“He’s a really good guy and we have a good relationship with everyone on his team, so it was a little bit tough to play against him.
“But today I think I played one of my best matches, and I’m really happy about my performance.”
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Prior to the clash, Cobolli had lost all five of his contested sets against the German with both of those meetings coming in 2025.
Additionally, he was 1-16 against top-10 players heading into the match with the only victory coming against world No 9 Holger Rune via retirement at the Madrid Masters.
As a result of the loss, Zverev drops 300 points in the rankings – after gaining 500 points from last year’s Munich title run.
This places the German on 5255 points in the Live ATP Rankings, just 545 points ahead of world No 4 Novak Djokovic.
The Serb has competed in just two events since October – the Australian Open and Indian Wells Masters – recently withdrawing from the Madrid Masters.
It is unclear when the 24-time Grand Slam champion will return to the tour, having also skipped the Italian Open last season and, instead, opting to play in the Geneva Open – where he won his 100th singles title.
Meanwhile, Alcaraz will drop 280 ranking points after having withdrawn from the Barcelona Open after having played just one match.
This extends the gap between Zverev and the world’s top two to 7705 ranking points.
In the quarter-finals, the world No 3 had beaten the tough Argentine Francisco Cerundolo in three sets and was clearly impressed by his performance.
“I thought it was an incredible level,” said Zverev after that victory.
“Even in the first set when I was up 4-1, he started playing unbelievable. He started returning unbelievable.
“My first-serve percentage was very high, and he started returning a foot in front of the baseline. So there was nothing I could do, to be honest. I was happy with my level even in the first set.
“Definitely happy to get the win today against Francisco, for the first time on clay.”
The post Alexander Zverev’s struggles highlighted by small rankings lead over ‘inactive’ Djokovic after latest loss appeared first on Tennis365.
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