"I'm gonna tank the next two games, this is ridiculous"- Alexander Zverev lashes out at chair umpire for allowing play at BMW Open despite rain
Alexander Zverev was seen admonishing the chair umpire in the German's quarter-final match against Christian Garin in the ongoing BMW Open. The major point raised by the German player was that play was allowed to continue even in considerable rainfall. Garin won the contest 6-4, 6-4.
Zverev has had a mixed bag in 2024 so far. The World No. 5 made it to the semifinals of the Australian Open earlier this year but is yet to win a title this year.
During the match against Garin at the BMW Open, Zverev was seen perturbed by the fact that they were still on court despite the rain. He pointed the fact to the chair umpire and implored the latter to take some action.
“At what point are we gonna do something? At what point? Just tell me. Are we not gonna do anything the entire match?" asked Zverev.
The German player even said that in case no action was taken, he was happy to concede the next two games and effectively forfeit the match.
"Then I’m done. I’m just gonna tank the next two games and I’m done. This is ridiculous. It’s been literally raining,” said Zverev.
This is not the first time Zverev has been beaten by Garin at Munich
For the second time in five years, Zverev lost to Christian Garin at the BMW Open in Munich. On that occasion in 2019, it was a tough three-set battle between the duo, and the Chilean came up trumps after saving match points.
This time around, the victory was much smoother for the Chilean. Zverev was perplexed by the strategy adopted by Garin which was based on mixing up baseline strokes with effective net play.
Zverev, who was the home favorite at the tournament, was the top seed. The German has won this competition twice in a row in 2017 and 2018. On those occasions, the German player won against Guido Pella and Philip Kohschreiber in straight sets.
Zverev in his home tournament, has been the top seed since 2018 till this edition barring 2023. He was an ardent supporter when the decision was taken to elevate the tournament to the next level, incorporating it into the ATP 500 series.
The next tournament for Zverev is the Madrid Open which he has won twice previously. His last tournament triumph at Madrid came in 2021 where he defeated Matteo Berrettini in the final. Clay is also the best surface for Zverev as he has a 72% win record on the dirt.