Harsh criticism of Zverev after his words about Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz

Alexander Zverev received several criticisms after his words in the press conference following his heavy defeat against Jannik Sinner in the Madrid Masters 1000 final. The German tennis player said that Azzurro plays in a category apart: “I think there is a big gap between Sinner and everybody else. And I think there is a big gap between Alcaraz, me, maybe Novak and everybody else. I think there are two gaps right now,” Zverev said, putting himself on the same level as Alcaraz and Djokovic.

These words did not please many fans and commentators at all. Among them was former tennis player Coco Vandeweghe, who criticized Zverev to Tennis Channel: “I think Sascha is not comparable to Jannik, Carlos or Novak for a very specific reason: he has not won a Grand Slam. He’s never won a Grand Slam.”

“I don’t think it’s fair to the successes of Novak, Carlos and Jannik that Sasha even thinks he’s in the same category. I think he has an outsized ego, and in a way that’s fair right?”

Another tennis player, Rennae Stubbs, also disagrees with Zverev: “He kept saying that. Does he really put himself on the same level as Alcaraz? That’s absurd. My respect for him would have increased if he had said, ‘The reality is I’m a very good player, I often get to the finals or semifinals-which is not always true-but Jannik and Carlos’ level is clearly higher than mine.’ But to put yourself at the same level as Alcaraz, who has literally won every Grand Slam tournament at only 21 years old, is madness. He, who has not even won a Major, says he is in the same category as him.”

“The Madrid final was bad. He looked like a wayward child. He told Jim Courier that he was not 100 percent . He looked like a child who had all his games thrown away and didn’t even try to react.”