Alexander Zverev’s dire end to the 2025 season continued on Monday after being dumped out of the Shanghai Masters by Arthur Rinderknech.
Despite being the world number three, the German has failed to reach a final since the Boss Open in June, suffering early exits at Wimbledon and the US Open.
On Monday, his woes were compounded, as world number 51 Arthur Rinderknech fought back from a set down to defeat the German 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the Shanghai Masters round of 32.
After reaching the Australian Open final in January, many fans would have expected Zverev to mount a challenge to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s dominance. However, this simply has not happened.
His latest result will sting, especially after losing to Rinderknech just a few months previously.
Arthur Rinderknech
Arthur Rinderknech’s defeat of Alexander Zverev at the Shanghai Masters was his second victory over the German in three months.
In July, Rinderknech stunned Zverev in the Wimbledon first round, defeating the German 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4.
The Frenchman repeated the feat in Shanghai on Monday, and will face 15th seed Jiri Lehecka in the round of 16.
Juan Martin del Potro
The 2009 US Open champion also has a 2-0 record against Alexander Zverev.
The pair first met at the 2017 Shanghai Masters, where del Potro defeated the German 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the round of 16.
In 2018, they contested their second, and last match, in Acapulco, Mexico.
Del Potro again emerged victorious from the semi-final contest, winning 6-4, 6-2. The Argentinian star went on to win the Acapulco title, defeating South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in the final, 6-4, 6-4.
Tommy Robredo
Alexander Zverev was only 18 years old when he played former world number five Tommy Robredo twice in 2015.
Robredo won their first contest at the Bastad Open, defeating Zverev 6-3, 6-4 in the semi-final. Robredo would end up losing in the final to Frenchman Benoit Paire, 7-6, 6-3.
A short time later, the pair met again at the Hamburg Open.
Again, the Spaniard triumphed, beating the German 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 in the round of 32.
