Bankruptcy against compatriot
Alexander Zverev produces new bad memory
February 28, 2024, 9:52 a.m
Alexander Zverev and the ATP tournament in Acapulco are a special relationship. One between triumph and catastrophe. At the latest edition, Germany’s best tennis professional said goodbye in the first round.
Tennis professional Alexander Zverev was eliminated in the first round of the ATP tournament in Acapulco, Mexico. The Olympic champion lost his opening match late on Tuesday evening (local time) against his Davis Cup teammate Daniel Altmaier 3:6, 6:3, 3:6. Altmaier from Kempen will face Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic in the round of 16. “I think winning against a German is something special,” said Altmaier. “He is number one in our country and has achieved a lot for our country.” He hopes that they can also achieve success together for Germany in the future.
Dominik Koepfer also advanced to the next round with a 6:4, 4:6, 6:0 win against French qualifier Terence Atmane. The Davis Cup player will face number eight seed Frances Tiafoe from the USA in the round of 16.
Zverev now has another bad memory of the $2.2 million hard court tournament in Acapulco. In 2021 he triumphed here thanks to a final victory against the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas. A year later, however, he was disqualified for freaking out during a doubles match in which he smashed his racket on the referee’s chair. The result was a fine and an eight-week suspended sentence.
Now Zverev failed in his opening match for the first time in his sixth participation in Acapulco. For Altmaier it was the first win against a player from the top 10 on a hard court.
Zverev recently failed in the semi-finals of the smaller ATP tournament in Los Cabos, Mexico, against eventual tournament winner Jordan Thompson. At the beginning of February he canceled his participation in the Davis Cup qualifying round in Hungary due to a viral infection. The world number six had already become ill in Melbourne on his way to the semi-finals of the Australian Open and had lost in a dramatic five-set match against the Russian Daniil Medvedev.