I've already seen this Zverev movie

Jose Morón | 12 May 2026 | 21.09

I have already seen this Zverev movie. Photo: Getty

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Today, once again, we watched the same movie about Alexander Zverev. My feeling, like yours, is that we have seen it so many times that we know it by heart. Once more, Sascha repeated the same script he has starred in throughout his career: he fails to seize the opportunity, he gives up, is defeated, and then offers excuses in the press conference.

Sascha's issue is all mental. There is no greater proof of this than the 6-0 in the third set today against Darderi in Rome after squandering four match points. When things get tough and the mountain seems higher than what he believes he can climb, Zverev gives up and doesn't trust in his abilities.

In adversity, Sascha shrinks. That gene of suffering, of holding onto the court, of fighting and waiting for your chance, a gene that many of the great legends of this sport possess, is not in the German's DNA. Hence, he faces results like the one he had today against a Darderi who grew stronger watching Zverev collapse.

Rafa Nadal's advice to overcome adversity

As mentioned earlier, rewatching the Zverev movie and knowing how it would end, I remembered some words from Rafa Nadal in a conference, where he talked about how he faced adversity when things got very tough. Sascha would do well to sit down and listen to the Mallorcan.

"There are times when your maximum is 100%. There are times when it's 80%. There are times when it's 50%, but if you can only give 50% because you can't give more, don't give less. In other words, don't give 30. Give 50. When you apply this daily and face difficult moments in tournaments where things don't go as you want, your mind will be prepared to accept frustration and overcome difficulties. Hence, you can say 'the match is almost impossible, okay, but at least I can't give up in defeat but take the match as far as I can.' It all comes back to the ethics of sports: The result doesn't matter. Finish the match because personal satisfaction is the greatest success, and that is more important than any title."

Zverev would benefit greatly from listening to one of the most impressive minds this sport has seen: Nadal.

When Rafa speaks, one must sit down and listen.

🗣️ "The result doesn't matter. Fight until the end, because in personal satisfaction lies success."

🎥 Trainyourmind https://t.co/RJRaqPFikg pic.twitter.com/kI6K3lQusG
— José Morón (@jmgmoron) May 12, 2026

Zverev, for whatever reasons, has not been able or willing to work on that aspect throughout his career. There has always been talk of the "fear of winning" that the German has had and how he became very defensive when the match got tense. This leads to situations like today against Darderi, where he doesn't seize his chance, his mind wanders elsewhere, and that causes him to lose dramatically.

At the end of the match, Zverev came up with another excuse. This time, it was about the court conditions at the Rome tournament. "With match point, the ball bounces incredibly high. This is the worst court I've ever played on in my life. I haven't played on a worse court," stated Sascha. Fair enough. It may be true that the state of the court in Rome is not the best, but if you wouldn't say that in a victory, you can't say it in a defeat.

I'm afraid they will continue to air this movie on television soon. The only question is when it will happen, whether in a couple of weeks in Paris, in a month and a half in London, or in another couple of months in the United States.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Esta película de Zverev yo ya me la he visto