Zverev explains why he didn’t do what Jannik Sinner did: “He’s different”

Alexander Zverev was defeated in the semifinals at Halle by Taylor Fritz and was unable to build on his triumph at Roland Garros, the first Grand Slam title of his career. After the match, the German tennis player explained why, unlike other top athletes such as Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic, he decided to play smaller grass-court tournaments before heading to Wimbledon.

““Why didn’t I do what Sinner did even though I just won a Grand Slam? For me, warm-up tournaments are always useful. I need to compete before a Grand Slam. Jannik is different. He won the Australian Open without playing any warm-up tournaments—more than once, in fact. And there are players who work that way.”

“Roger Federer didn’t need warm-up tournaments either, and he won many Grand Slams that way,” Zverev continued. “But I’m someone who needs to get into a competitive rhythm. I think Jannik doesn’t need it because he’s already proven it many times in Australia,” said the world No. 3.

Zverev revealed that he had to deal with a technical issue related to managing his diabetes: the sensor he uses to monitor his blood sugar levels was giving him completely inaccurate readings, showing very high values when they were actually low. This situation forced him to inject more insulin than necessary, with serious consequences for his performance on the court.

“During the first 45 minutes of the match, I had to consume about 350 grams of sugar. I felt terrible. That was the real reason I wasn’t physically present in the second set, and I struggled a lot in the third as well. Nevertheless, I fought hard, gave it my all, and, in the end, we have to acknowledge that Taylor deserved the victory.” The German emphasized that this was a completely exceptional occurrence: “It’s the first time something like this has happened to me. I’ve been using these sensors since 2016 or 2017, and in nine years I’ve never seen such a major error.”