Zverev lashes out at Rome and its balls: "They were a real disaster, they change everything"

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Alexander Zverev fell in the quarterfinals of the 2025 ATP Rome to an inspired Lorenzo Musetti, in a match where he didn't find what he was looking for: confidence and a high-level victory before facing 2025 Roland Garros. The goal remains Paris, but the German will arrive in a slump where only a title in Munich shines in three months of more stumbles than joy. The latest mishap also sparked a big anger in the German, tired of dealing with what seems like an endless problem: that of the balls.

The issue is that, according to Sascha, the Italian tournament has introduced balls completely different from previous events, even though the manufacturer (Dunlop) and the model are supposed to be exactly the same. The German's complaint, amplified by playing in night conditions that added an extra slowness to the game, was devastating and highlighted the frustration he feels about this matter.

"The balls today were a real disaster, they were too big. We have been talking about this for the last three or four years, but the problem persists. We play with certain balls in Monte Carlo, Madrid, Munich, but we get to Rome and everything changes. Here, the balls are huge, they're hard to move, hard to make them bounce off the racket. For someone like me, who seeks quick points with the serve and aggressive shots, it's not easy," stated the German in words to Ubitennis, going on to dissect a match where, according to him, Musetti didn't do anything different or special from what he is used to.

"I had four set points in the first set, all on my serve. Normally, in those situations, I win the set. Today, however, it was complicated. I couldn't hit winners, the ball wasn't coming off the racket. Musetti did his role, as he always does on clay: defends well, waits for the opponent's error. His style doesn't change much, it's always the same, but today the conditions favored him," clarified a Sascha who, certainly, was not convinced of the level of his vanquisher on the Italian night.

NOW WHAT?

Reflecting on the tournament is still difficult for a Zverev who, remember, suffers fatal consequences due to this defeat: he drops to number 3 in the rankings, which guarantees him being on Sinner or Alcaraz's side of the draw for Roland Garros, and fails in defending the title he won last year. "Compared to yesterday's match against Fils, where I played at a very high level, today the level dropped quite a bit, but that's tennis. There are days when things don't go as you'd like. Now I have to look ahead, plan my way to Paris well, and be ready for the most important tournament of the clay-court season." Will he manage to reverse this bad trend and surprise by making history in Paris? The challenge seems more difficult than ever, but only Sascha knows whether he still has a trick up his sleeve.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Zverev atiza a Roma y sus pelotas: "Fueron un auténtico desastre, cambian todo"