Tennis Channel under fire: Alexander Zverev demands they back off

TL;DR

Alexander Zverev's Italian Open campaign ended in the round of 16 after losing to Luciano Darderi. Zverev expressed frustration with the court conditions, calling it the worst he has ever played on.

Key points

Zverev lost in the round of 16 at the Italian Open
He was defeated by Luciano Darderi
Zverev missed four match points in the second set
He criticized the court conditions after the match

Alexander ZverevLuciano DarderiItalian Open

Photo by WILLIAM WEST / AFP via Getty Images

Alexander Zverev’s Italian Open run ended earlier than expected, as he went out in the round of 16 to home favourite Luciano Darderi.

Darderi has since reached the semi-finals, while Zverev is still reflecting on a match that slipped away from him. The German lost 6-1, 6-7(10-12), 0-6, missing four match points in a tense second-set tie-break.

Zverev was frustrated after the match, saying: “I mean, to be honest, the court, I think this is the worst court I’ve ever played on.”

His frustration didn’t stop there. Zverev also took issue with Tennis Channel on social media after noticing he had been cut from another one of their videos.

Photo by Neal Simpson/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images

Alexander Zverev hits out at Tennis Channel

The Tennis Channel posted a video on Instagram, showing different ATP and WTA players taking part in a Roman Numerals Challenge. Zverev didn’t hold back in the comments.

He wrote: “Just a random question [Tennis Channel], why do I do all of these games and all these promotion activities with you guys but then every time I get something right I get cut out of every single one?

“Just asking if you’re just interested in wasting my time or just hope that I get something wrong so you can then put that in?

“I know you have players that you love to hate on and players that you love. So just please stop wasting my time then. Thank you.”