It was Zverev himself who had ignited the controversy with his comments at the Western & Southern Open two weeks ago. During their semifinal match at the ATP Masters 1000 event, the German accused Tsitsipas of receiving coaching on the phone during his long toilet breaks.
More recently, three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray criticized Stefanos Tsitsipas for his extended breaks during their first-round match at the US Open. Zverev had then chimed in with some new comments of his own, joking in his first-round presser that Tsitsipas goes to a “magical place” during his breaks.
On Thursday, upon being asked to weigh in on the issue that has become a hot topic at the US Open, the German initially refused to attack his Greek rival anymore. Zverev, who has himself courted controversy in recent times over allegations of abuse from his ex-girlfriend, stated at first that he wanted to steer clear of the toilet break debate.
However, Alexander Zverev then claimed the rules need an immediate change to prevent such occurrences in the future. According to the 24-year-old, it gets “frustrating” for a player to wait on the court if the opponent takes a break right after losing a set.
Adrian Mannarino, who won the third set of his second-round match against Stefanos Tsitsipas right before the Greek went on a break, failed to win a single game upon the resumption of play. The match ultimately ended 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-0 in Tsitsipas’ favor.
Zverev insinuated that the Frenchman’s poor performance in the fourth set could have been a result of the break that Tsitsipas took. The German surmised that the Mannarino’s back might have got “stiff” in the intervening period.
Zverev further expressed agreement with Murray’s point that the body cools down during a break of six minutes or longer, making it tough to hit the ground running upon resumption.
“The process started at the Olympics for me, and the match against Novak Djokovic” - Alexander Zverev on his winning mentality
By reaching the third round in New York, Alexander Zverev has now extended his winning streak to 13 matches. The Olympic and Cincinnati champion hasn’t dropped a set in two matches so far, and looks determined to win the title he missed by a whisker last year.
On being asked if he was in the “zone” right now, Zverev attributed his newfound winning mentality to his three-set win over World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics.
The German also expressed happiness at having backed up his Olympic win with the title at Cincinnati, which he claimed further boosted his confidence level.
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