Alexander Zverev’s season is taking a very negative direction after his defeat to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final. The world number 2 – who dreamed of winning his first Major title at Melbourne Park – is still suffering from that clear defeat on the iconic Rod Laver Arena and has not yet recovered.
His results in February were truly disastrous – with premature eliminations in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Acapulco – and March started in equally horrific fashion. The German ace – who was the No. 1 seed at Indian Wells due to the absence of Jannik Sinner (suspended for three months after the agreement with WADA) – was defeated on his debut by Tallon Griekspoor.
Griekspoor on defeating Zverev
The match was not of high quality and was characterized by numerous unforced errors by both players, but the Dutch ace had more courage in the decisive moments and deserved to win in the decisive tiebreak.
“Defeating Sascha was a very tough challenge from a mental point of view. I had lost four times to him last season and the defeat at Roland Garros was really heartbreaking, because it was a Grand Slam tournament and I had two breaks ahead in the fifth set,” said Griekspoor, who had beaten former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in Dubai.
“I played a lot of tough matches against Zverev, in which I had several chances to win, but he had always prevailed.
I’m really proud of this performance and I feel like I’ve finally achieved the goal I deserved,” added Tallon, who could go very far in the first Masters 1000 of the season if he’s good at handling the pressure.
Alexander Zverev’s charge for world No.1 so far:
Buenos Aires – QF loss to Cerundolo
Rio – QF loss to Comesana
Acapulco – R16 loss to Tien
Indian Wells – R64 loss to Griekspoor pic.twitter.com/XmbB4ybkSg— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) March 7, 2025
Because of this painful loss, Sascha’s chances of climbing to the top of the ATP ranking before Sinner’s return were almost zero.
The champion from Hamburg has returned to show his usual weaknesses and will have to react as soon as possible to avoid sinking.
Tennis World USA