Tennis Fans Troll Alexander Zverev After Shanghai Masters Upset

Roger Federer introduced the idea that tournament organizers were recreating the same court speed in order to help Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. ATP World No. 3 Alexander Zverev endorsed Federer's theory earlier this week at the Shanghai Masters.

"No, I hate when it's [court speeds] the same, to be honest," Zverev said flatly. "And I know that the tournament directors are going towards that direction because obviously they want Jannik and Carlos to do well every tournament and that's what they prefer."

Shortly after one of Sinner's matches, a reporter asked the second-ranked player about Zverev's comments. Sinner's reaction upon hearing Zverev's comments was hilarious, and reminded his peer that he and Alcaraz did not make the courts.

Zverev's comments quickly came back to haunt him as he lost to Arthur Rinderknech in the Round of 32 today: 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. To be fair, Rinderknech is a good player, and the weather is brutal. But that did not stop fans from savagely trolling Zverev on social media.

As you can see from the social media posts in this article, tennis fans did not waste time capitalizing on Zverev's poor performance. The German star had a clear path to a Masters 1000 title with Sinner, Alcaraz, and Taylor Fritz out of the tournament.

However, this is just the latest chapter in a nightmare season for Zverev. After losing in the Australian Open final, Zverev publicly spiraled and questioned everything about his game - even openly considering the idea of therapy.

Zverev is 48-21 with one singles title this year. He still has a narrow lead over Fritz and Novak Djokovic in today's updated ATP Rankings, but that gap could shrink by next week.

For better and for worse, the tennis season always keeps going. That means Zverev and his exhausted peers will have another shot at improving their game soon. Meanwhile, Rinderknech will face the 15-seed Jiri Lehecka in the Round of 16 on Wednesday, October 8.

The Shanghai Masters runs through October 12.