Zverev downplays Wimbledon controversy after being affected

Pedro de Pablos | 7 Jul 2026 | 20.05

Zverev downplays controversy over Wimbledon rule after being affected. Source: Getty Images.

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Alexander Zverev is on a roll, and as a result, he secured a victory over Jiri Lehecka in the Wimbledon 2026 round of 16, which allowed him to reach the quarterfinals of the tournament for the first time. However, there has been controversy surrounding the fact that the match had to be suspended last night to be finished today due to the tournament regulations, something he preferred to downplay.

The Wimbledon regulations state that matches must be stopped by 23:00 to avoid disturbing the neighbors, which directly affected Zverev. The German player went to sleep two sets ahead and today had to work hard to defeat Lehecka in the fourth set tiebreak. Furthermore, he will face Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals tomorrow with little rest, although 'Sascha' played down the situation in a press conference, acknowledging that they are aware of and accept these circumstances.

Analysis of the match against Lehecka before and after the break

Yes, the match had two parts. I think yesterday we both played phenomenally. An incredibly high level. I believe we both played nearly at our best. Today I think it was worse, but it's not easy to finish at 11 at night and then return under completely different conditions, so it was normal. I am very happy to have progressed to the next round in four sets.

Zverev talks about the Wimbledon regulation to stop matches at 23:00

Of course, I would change it. When you are leading two sets to love, 3-3 in the third, of course, you want to keep playing. We, as players, know this, we accept it. There's nothing we can do about it. I think yesterday I was in an excellent rhythm, playing phenomenal tennis indoors, so of course, I would have wanted to continue. It's part of Wimbledon, we know it, we accept it. There's no issue.

Viral image of Federer alone in the royal box

Yes, I saw it. At one point, he was sitting all alone in the royal box. I think it was a phenomenal image. But I also saw him before the match. He congratulated me for Roland Garros, it was very kind of him to stay.

Zverev reveals how he prepared after last night's break

I think tomorrow I will be fine. It's better to have a regular training day because I went to bed at 2:30 in the morning last night. You have to get up at 9 because warm-up is at 11. Normally, I would have slept in and trained around 1:30 or 2:00 and had a light practice. Again, no issue. We understand it. We, as players, know there's a curfew at 11. We know we have to come back the next day. It's not a big deal.

I found the roof more interesting. I didn't know the rule had changed and that we had to play with the roof open the next day. That seemed more interesting to me because it also changed the dynamics of the match. They are completely different conditions. Yes, that was the most surprising thing for me. But everything else is fine. I'd much rather be in the position I'm in now than last year when I was fresh and already out of the tournament.

Upcoming match against Fritz

I think the last times we played, honestly, it's been quite straightforward. If we exclude the match in Halle because I had issues there (I openly admitted it, I was having a lot of trouble with my sugar), in the other matches he was simply better than me. Sometimes it's as simple as that. He was in better form. He played better than me. That's all. In the matches we played, it was very straightforward: he was better than me. Again, now I feel different. I feel I'm playing better, I feel I'm in better form. I believe I can win tomorrow.

First time in Wimbledon quarterfinals

It's great to complete the series of quarterfinals in all 4 Grand Slams. But, of course, I also want to go further. I hope to play three more matches here. I'm obviously happy. I'm happy to be in the quarterfinals. Like I said, the tournament doesn't end here for me.

Reasons for his improvement on grass

In general, I think this year I'm playing better than last year and the years before. I also believe I've adapted better to grass. Definitely, I've tweaked my game a bit. I don't know if you've noticed, but my return position is much closer to the baseline, sometimes even inside it, which wasn't the case in the past years. I felt more secure and comfortable there than in the previous years. I think all these things just work better on grass than before.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Zverev quita hierro a la polémica norma de Wimbledon tras verse afectado

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