Alexander Zverev has continued his horrendous run against Jannik Sinner after losing their Madrid Open final.
Zverev issued an apology after playing against Sinner in Spain for just 57 minutes, losing their encounter 6-1, 6-2.
The German has now lost his last nine ATP meetings with the Italian, with their overall head-to-head record now standing at 4-10.
Marion Bartoli was left really disappointed by Zverev in the Madrid Open final, where Sinner was admittedly ruthless from the very first minute.
But it has continued a very worrying trend for Zverev, who has now been told by Greg Rusedski what he must do to compete against the world number one the next time they meet.
When does Jannik Sinner next lose a tennis match? 👀
Alexander Zverev told to be aggressive on serve vs Jannik Sinner
Initially speaking about Sinner, the former British number one said on Off Court With Greg Rusedski: “Well he wasn’t really playing as well as he’d like in the beginning of Madrid.
“I mean, he lost a set to [Benjamin] Bonzi. He said he was struggling with conditions.
“But all of a sudden from the semifinals onwards, he was brilliant. I mean, I think [Arthur] Fils tried to overpush it, too many unforced errors.
“You look at the numbers with Zverev, he served 77% first serves, won 52% of the points. Second serve points 28%, and Sinner was just returning the serve like nothing, taking it early on the front foot.
“Zverev was back. Zverev I think doesn’t know what he has to do against him tactically. You have to be aggressive on the serve.
“You have to serve and volley. You have to try to find a way to keep him off balance. It’s really easy for me sitting here to say so, and Zverev has had a phenomenal year, but he just has this thing in his mind.
“I think he doesn’t know what I need to do to beat Sinner. He much prefers playing Carlos Alcaraz than he does against Sinner.
“And Sinner has been gangbusters since winning the Sunshine Double. Now winning in Monte Carlo for the first time, first time in Madrid.
“And in Rome, weather conditions are beautiful at the moment. Lots of people in the grounds right now.
“I mean, they’re going to be hoping their Italian stallion can win in Rome. It’s been a long time since they’ve had an Italian man win the title.
“I don’t see anybody stopping him at the moment. You’ve got to serve lights out. You’ve got to be willing to take a lot of risk, let’s see what happens.”
Zverev stated Sinner is better than Alcaraz after the Madrid final, and while he has enjoyed greater success against the Spaniard, he still trails him 6-7 in their ATP head-to-head.
What does Alexander Zverev have to do to change his results against Jannik Sinner?
Greg Rusedski wants people to give Alexander Zverev ‘a break’
Both Zverev and Sinner must quickly turn their attention to the Italian Open, which gets underway in Rome later this week.
They could, of course, come face-to-face once again on the court there and at Roland Garros, with Sinner certain to be very confident of further wins given what played out in Madrid.
But Rusedski believes the German world number three does indeed deserve credit for his efforts of late despite the heavy defeat in Spain.
When it was suggested that Zverev has little chance of French Open success if he comes up against Sinner in Paris, Rusedski said: “Well you just need one of those days where you go lights out.
“He’s been the nearly man. Look at the Australian Open. He’s served for the match five-three in the final set against Carlos.
“He closes the deal out there there’s a different story, because all of a sudden he’s playing Novak Djokovic in the final of the Australian Open.
“So he’s been one game away this year from being in another major final. Don’t discount him.
“Rome is going to be interesting, but Paris is three out of five sets. There’s a little bit more time to manoeuvre, a little bit more time to relax in it. Yeah he’ll be disappointed.
“He’s been crunched the last few times, but this is where Zverev has to sit down with his team, go through the tapes, go through the data, and try to figure out a solution.
“Let’s give the guy a break. I mean, his results have been off the charts, but unfortunately Sinner seems to have his number at the moment.
“But you’ve got to hope Sinner has a little bit of an off day, or [Novak] Djokovic shows up and does something magical, but he looks undefeatable.
“And as Andy Roddick himself said, when Carlos is in town, it does make it more interesting. But come on, somebody’s got to step up as well. It can’t just be one player.”
It remains to be seen who can really challenge Sinner in the coming weeks, but one certainty is that it won’t be Alcaraz.
Alcaraz is missing Rome and Roland Garros with a wrist injury, although Djokovic is in the field for the ATP Masters 1000 event in Italy, and likely for the Grand Slam in Paris too.
