Alexander Zverev in hot waters after skipping scheduled press talk following upset defeat in Acapulco

Germany’s Alexander Zverev is in hot waters after abandoning a scheduled press talk in Acapulco. The reigning world number two suffered a shocking defeat in the second round of the Mexican Open to America’s Learner Tien in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-4.

According to tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg, Zverev is set to be in more trouble as he skipped the post-match talk to the media. Rothenberg revealed that the German tennis player went straight out of the arena after losing in the second round, even though he was scheduled to talk to the media.

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“Zverev should be getting a fine also today to add to his woes,” he wrote on social media platform X, previous known as Twitter. “He was announced pre-match for a win-or-lose press conference but instead walked straight out of the ATP 500 Acapulco stadium and into a car to ride away into the night, while Tien was still on court.”

The result is a major setback for Zverev, who would have been hoping for a longer run in the competition and close the gap on the reigning world number one Jannik Sinner, who is currently spending three months on the sidelines after reaching an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) following two failed tests in March last year.

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Zverev started the season brilliantly as he finished as the runner-up at the Australian Open, where he lost to Sinner in the final with a score of 6-3, 7-6, 6-3. Things, however, have not been great since for the three-time Grand Slam runner-up. He was then featured in the Argentina Open, where he suffered a defeat against Francisco Cerundolo in the quarterfinal, scoring 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. In his last appearance before coming to Acapulco, he featured in the Rio Open, where his journey ended in the quarterfinal where he lost to Argentina’s Francisco Comesana with a score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

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