Alexander Zverev calls favoritism towards the two best Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner | Tennis news

Alexander Zverev says that the organizers of the tournament deliberately slow down the courts to promote the two best Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in the world.
The world n ° 3 overcome a fear of injuries to beat Valentin Royer 6-4 6-4 to the Masters of Shanghai, but then expressed his dissatisfaction with the way he felt that sport was heading.
“I hate when it’s the same thing, to be honest,” he said in his interview on the field.
“I think that the directors of the tournament go to this direction because, obviously, they want Jannik and Carlos to do each tournament well and that is what they prefer.
“Nowadays, you can play almost the same way on each surface. I don’t like it, I’m not a fan.
“I think tennis needs different styles of play, tennis needs a little variety and I think we are missing at the moment.”
Zverev had to be treated in court for an injury to the toes when he was used for the match at 5-4 in the second set, but that did not stop his progress.
“I landed funny on my toe and after that, I could barely take a step, so we will see what it is,” he added.
“We will see if I will still be healthy this year, because it was difficult but I am happy to have finished.”
Sky Sports contacted ATP to comment.
Federer dissatisfied with the short speeds
In September, Roger Federer appeared on the podcast “ served with Andy Roddick ” when washing it Cup where he also called on the organizers to use judicial speeds to help Alcaraz and Pinner.
“We must not only have fast terrain, but what we would like to see is that Alcaraz or Sinner discover it on fast Lightning terrains, then have the same match on super slow terrain and see how it corresponds,” said the Grand Slam champion at 20 times.
“It is because the directors of the tournament allowed the speed of the ball and the speed of the court that every week is fundamentally the same. And that is why you can simply go from victory, French, Wimbledon, the United States open and let’s play in the same way.”
Nick Kyrgios also talked about surface speeds in previous seasons, saying: “I would like to see more variety. It’s good to play on [fast] Courts like these, where aggressive tennis rewards a little more.
“I want to see Bang-Bang, a one-two tennis-and many of these Federer fans always want to see this too. I loved looking at this Federer a-two.”
Speaking before the start of the US Open 2024, the director of the Stacey Allaster tournament explained the surface speed to Flushing Meadows. “We aim that the short court note is quick.” This can be 41 to 44 years old. The rhythm index of the average courtyard [CPI] is 42.
“This is where we like it to be at the start of the tournament so that, as we went inside, he approaches the end. We know that the speed of the court gives him this good balance with the style of play – that has succeeded.”
The surface of the masters of Shanghai experienced a decrease in significant speed, with reports showing a drop in its ICC from the 40-41 range from previous years to 32.9 in 2025, which made courts significantly slower than before.
British no 2 Cameron NORRIE Adait Arthur Cazaux 6-3 0-6 7-6 (7-5) to reach the third round in Shanghai.
N ° 7 of the world 7 Alex de Minaur Beat Argentinan Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-4 6-2 in 88 minutes, while Stefanos Tsisipas retired with a leg injury before his planned match with the Czech qualifier Goal dalibor.
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