“It’s an exhibition tournament that is called Davis Cup”: Alexander Zverev tears into the modern format

Alexander Zverev’s defeat to Felix Auger-Aliassime at the ATP Finals on Friday ended his hopes of reaching the semi-finals. The German fell 4–6, 6–7(4) to the Canadian and bid farewell to Turin with just one win and two losses.

The defeat and elimination from the ATP Finals—which was his 8th participation in the tournament—was not the only topic he wanted to address in the press room. It's still too early for Zverev to think about vacation, as he has one last commitment before ending the season: the Davis Cup Finals, where he will join Germany to face Argentina in the quarter-finals set to take place in Bologna.

Zverev won't have to travel too far this time for the final phase of the nations' tournament. However, the World No. 3 fondly recalls the home-and-away Davis Cup ties and admitted he is not satisfied with the current format. "The true Davis Cup is the home-and-away ties,” the 3-time Grand Slam runner-up said. “For me, if you’re in the final of Davis Cup, I’m more than happy to play one more week after the ATP Finals. But to play quarterfinals, semifinals, I’m not too happy about because it can be a waste of time.”

Zverev, along with Carlos Alcaraz, will be the only Top 10 players present in the final phase of the Davis Cup—while prominent figures like Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti are absent. The host team [Italy], will have to recover from losing its two main figures, which could be an embarrassment, especially since they are the country hosting all the ties from the quarter-finals onward.

“To play against Italy in Italy, it would be a completely different atmosphere than playing Italy in Spain,” Zverev mentioned. “I played against [Rafael] Nadal in a bullfighting arena in 2018. That’s for me the real Davis Cup. I don’t think this Davis Cup is the real Davis Cup. It’s an exhibition tournament in a way that is called Davis Cup.”

The defining theme of the night was the loss in Turin to Felix, which ended a season for Zverev where he finished one step behind the dominance of Sinner and Alcaraz—but maintained his position within the Top 3 through deep runs and victories in the most important tournaments. Sacha achieved a total of 55 wins and 25 losses during the season, along with one title and over 5 million dollars in earnings.

However, the defeat to Felix hit the German hard. While he acknowledged the great growth that Auger-Aliassime has experienced in recent months, he added that he felt he played his worst match in recent memory. "I think Felix evolved as a tennis player since the last couple of months. I think he played better here than in New York,” he commented, recalling his recent defeat in the US Open third round, precisely against the Canadian.

The German had come into Turin with optimism after a more stable autumn, yet the result and his level did not match his expectations. “I also have to be honest with myself. This was the worst match that I played in the last month, taking out the Sinner match in Paris because I wasn't fit. Yeah, from my end, this was not a good tennis match."

Zverev did not shy away from the broader evaluation of his 2025 campaign, which he described as one of the most frustrating of his career. "For me, an incredibly unsatisfying season. The tennis season is long, you have a lot of ups and downs. For me, there were not many ups. I think for me, the Australian Open final, Munich as you mentioned. Everything else, I'm very unsatisfied."

Even with a Grand Slam final and a title on home soil, Zverev made it clear that his standards remain higher. The combination of inconsistency, physical struggles, and missed opportunities has shaped a year that he views as falling short of what he expects from himself.