Alexander Zverev has been told to ditch the excuses after the German blamed the “conditions and the balls” following his Canadian Open exit.
In his first match back since his Wimbledon final loss, Zverev went down in three sets to Tallon Griekspoor, as the Dutchman’s aggressive tactics proved too much for the French Open champion.
After the defeat, the 29-year-old revealed he was not happy with the playing conditions in Montreal and the Wilson tennis balls, which play quite differently to the Dunlop balls used at Wimbledon.
He said, “I think with the conditions and the balls, I think there is going to be some strange-ish results, ranking-wise, player-wise, that you maybe don’t expect during other tournaments. And, again, it’s the first hard court event for us in a couple of months.
“I think everybody is still trying to find their form. The balls are just not controllable. It’s the same every year. It’s nothing new. The Wilson balls are difficult, but again, that’s not the reason I lost today. I think I’m just not in form yet that I was the last couple of months.”
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While many players have criticised the quality of tennis balls being used on the tennis tour for years now, with some speculating that manufacturers have dropped their standards since the coronavirus pandemic, Rennae Stubbs has laid into Zverev for his recent remarks.
The former world No 1 doubles player stressed that the all-time greats would never do that after a defeat.
The Australian said on the latest episode of The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, “Every time he [Zverev] loses, as you said, there’s always a frigging excuse.
“It’s like, have you ever heard Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer or Serena Williams complain about the balls and that’s the reason why they lost? I mean, what are we doing here? Yes, the balls are very different.”
Her co-host Caitlin Thompson pointed out that tennis legend Billie Jean King once said, “Champions adjust”.
Stubbs, who is coaching Serena Williams at present, could not agree more. Plus, both players have to deal with these conditions but the best find a way to win.
She added, “Exactly, that is my point. So you know that. Get your strings tighter, whatever it is, we’ve all been there. I know exactly how that ball feels after coming from London and it does fly. And some players love it, some players hate it, and you need to adjust.
“I can tell you one thing. When Rafa, or Roger, or Novak or any great player has lost in Canada, they haven’t blamed the f****** balls. Because guess what? They know what the balls are. They’re Wilson, they’re different.”
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The post ‘Haven’t blamed the f****** balls’ – Ex-world No 1 slams Alexander Zverev for Canadian Open excuse appeared first on Tennis365.
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