Alexander Zverev has suffered another surprising early setback. The Olympic tennis champion lost his first round match at the ATP tournament in Tokyo against Australian Jordan Thompson 3:6, 4:6 in 95 minutes.
The 26-year-old had already failed in his opening match at the Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai. Zverev is thus in danger of losing his good starting position for participation in the ATP Finals.
Frustrated Zverev
One and a half weeks ago, the physical exertions of the previous tournaments were still clearly noticeable in the Hamburg player. Against Thompson in Tokyo, the number three seed Zverev did not play well either. After a missed passing shot for the decisive break at 4:5 in the second set, the world number nine roared out his frustration. “He has great quality but I believed I could win,” Thompson said of his victory.
On track to qualify for the year-end tournament in Turin, Zverev is currently still ranked seventh. The best eight tennis professionals of the season qualify for the ATP Finals in mid-November.
