Zverev criticizes ball quality again and takes a shot at Musetti's style of play after Rome Open defeat

In a candid post-match interview following his quarterfinal loss to Lorenzo Musetti at the Rome Open, world No. 2 Alexander Zverev expressed frustration over playing conditions, particularly focusing on the quality of the tennis balls, The German star didn't hold back when discussing factors that affected his performance and even questioned Musseti's strategy.

Alexander Zverev isn't known for remaining quiet after a decepointing loss and after Wednesday's match against Italy's Lorenzo Musetti, the German didnt' hide at all his frustration.

Breaking down the match

When questioned about the differences in this match compared to his previous encounters with Musetti, Zverev provided a forthright assessment of his opponent's playing style:

"I think he plays similas when he plays on clay all the time. He depends a lot on defense. He depends a lot on the mistakes from other opponents, " Zverev stated, suggesting Musetti's success relied more on the defensive play than taking a step forward and going for it trusting in his offensive shot-making.

Now, to be fair, Zverev registered the same amount of winners than his opponent in the match (20). So even if he has a point, the German is not a pure shot maker as well.

Ball quality, again on the spot

The most pointed criticism in the press conference came when Zverev was directly asked about the playing equipment. "Balls were a joke today", he responded bluntly, before elaborating:

"Generally speaking, this is a subject we've had over the last three, four years now. Players are talking about it all the time".

Zverev highlighted inconsistency across tournaments as a major concern: "They say we play with the same ball in Monaco, Madrid, Munich. Then we come here and the ball is totally different. The ball is very, very big. It's very difficult to hit winners here."

"Of course, for my game style, today was not easy because at the end of the day I'm still somebody that tries to play aggressive. I'm still somebody that tries to serve very fast. That's how it is. It's difficult to get free points today," he explained.

"Today was difficult for me to hit winners. It was very slow, very, very heavy. The balls were getting very big. Even though I had my chances, I was up three set points, four set points in the first set on my serve. Usually I should win that set and then we'll see. Yeah, like I said, it was difficult today."