Alexander Zverev tried everything. He went to the net, hit from below, and got into a fight with the referee out of sheer frustration – but against all odds and a self-confident opponent, he couldn’t find a solution. In wet and cold weather, the number one seed from Hamburg failed with a score of 4:6, 4:6 in the quarterfinals of the ATP tournament in Munich against Chilean Cristian Garin, winner of 2019.
Especially in the second set, Zverev let his anger out and took it out on referee Richard Haigh. “It has been raining non-stop for three hours. And no one thinks for a second about interrupting here,” he complained. When the score was 2:4, the Olympic champion added: “I’ll give up the next two games and then I’ll be done here. This is really ridiculous. I slip with every step I take.”
Zverev quickly chased a break in the first set in seven degrees, wind and constant drizzle and rarely saw land against the confident Garin. The Chilean, only number 106 in the world rankings, played largely flawlessly, and he repeatedly disrupted the rhythm of the fifth in the world rankings with variable shots. After a break from Garin to make it 4:2 in the second set, it was over after exactly two hours and the second match point.
“The ball is not alive”
Zverev briefly waved to the audience again and then quickly walked away from the inhospitable Center Court. He still has to wait for his first tournament victory this year, and also for a third title in Munich after 2017 and 2018. He has already been in the last two years Round of 16 of the BMW Open failed. Next week Zverev will play the Masters in Madrid. He has already won there twice – in much better external conditions.
After his opening win, Zverev had already emphasized how much he was struggling with the conditions. The extreme cold was the “biggest challenge” for him, he said, “it disrupts my game more than anything else.” In addition, due to the high humidity after the constant rain, “the ball is not alive, the pitch is not alive.”
Garin will face Taylor Fritz of the USA on the way to the final on Sunday. The 13th in the world rankings, ranked number three in Munich, defeated the British Jack Draper 4:6, 6:1, 7:6 (7:1). Fritz also had to struggle with the external circumstances. “It’s tough, it’s really cold, the wind is strong, it’s difficult conditions,” he said.
