Alexander Zverev

Zverev dishes frank response to Miami exit: 'I have to look at myself'

Alexander Zverev was forced to rue another missed opportunity on Wednesday when he bowed out of the fourth round at the Miami Open presented by Itau. But the top seed didn't shy away from the truth.

The No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Zverev let slip a break lead in the final set before falling to Frenchman Arthur Fils, marking his fourth deciding-set loss of the season. In his post-match press conference, the German delivered an honest assessment of where his game is at this year, in which he now holds an 11-6 record.

“I have been losing a lot of matches that I feel like I couldn't control lately,” Zverev said after his defeat to the 20-year-old Fils. “It was similar again today. So I have to look at myself more than anything else.”

After reaching his third major final at the Australian Open this January, Zverev opted to embark on the South American clay-court swing for the first time in his pro career, instead of honing his hard-court game as he has done previously. The 27-year-old fell to quarter-final defeats in Buenos Aires and Rio before returning to the hard courts ahead of the 'Sunshine Double'.

In his Indian Wells opener, Zverev squandered the chance to serve out the match in his defeat to Tallon Griekspoor, who emerged victorious in a final-set tie-break. The 23-time tour-level champion appeared to be turning his fortunes around, however, with an impressive run to the fourth round in Miami, where he reached the final in 2018. Yet Zverev was unable to cross the line in his match with Fils, who reeled off four straight games from 1-3 in the decider, converting each of the two break points he carved out, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

“I think I definitely played better here than I did the last few weeks, but I'm up a break in the third, there is no reason for me to lose this match,” added Zverev, who is now 3-2 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Fils. “I go on to lose four games in a row. In Indian Wells I'm serving for the match, and in Rio I am up 4-1 in the third. In Buenos Aires I was up a set and a break. I'm just losing a lot of matches from a winning position right now. I need to change that.”

While his exit will have consequences in his chase for the World No. 1 spot over Jannik Sinner, Zverev will be able to take positives from his campaign in Miami. By defeating Jacob Fearnley in his opening-round match, Zverev notched his 145th ATP Masters 1000 win to move clear of Tommy Haas (144) for the most recorded by a German player since the series’ introduction in 1990.

Zverev’s attention will now turn to the European clay-court season, during which he has enjoyed considerable success in the past. The German is notably a two-time champion at the Masters 1000 events in Rome and Madrid, respectively, and is also the reigning Roland Garros runner-up.