Zverev is suffering badly and is out of the Olympics.
The dream of defending the title is over: German tennis ace Alexander Zverev crashes out in the quarterfinals of the Olympic tournament. Once again, the heat in Paris is causing him trouble. His Italian opponent, Lorenzo Musetti, handles it much better and wins in two sets.
The dream of another gold is over: Alexander Zverev missed out on the Olympic semi-finals in Paris. The tennis star and champion of the Tokyo Olympics lost to Italian Lorenzo Musetti 5:7, 5:7 in the round of eight. Germany is now without a tennis medal at these Games.
Instead of the German number one, the world number 16 is now playing for a medal - a heavy disappointment for Zverev. Musetti's opponent in the fight for a place in the final on Sunday will be determined later today between Serbian Grand Slam record winner Novak Djokovic and the eighth-seeded Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Zverev had won the first German Olympic gold in tennis three years ago in Japan, which remains his greatest career achievement despite missing out on a Grand Slam triumph. He was therefore aiming for more Olympic glory in Paris.
Against Musetti, however, he struggled from the start, just over 18 hours after his quarter-final match against Australian Alexei Popyrin. As the last German hope after Angelique Kerber's elimination, he chased a break for much of the first set. Zverev, who had not lost a set in the first three rounds, then leveled at 5:5, but immediately lost his serve and the first set 6:5 after 62 minutes.
Musetti, whom he had beaten in their only previous encounter in Rome 2022, played spectacularly, mixing in brilliant stops and stunning backhands. Zverev lacked that certain something, despite appearing physically strong. After 2 hours and 4 minutes, his Olympic dream was over.
Despite his physical strength, Zverev's tennis journey at the Olympics took a turn for the worse in Paris. He failed to advance past the quarterfinals, losing to Musetti in back-to-back matches, significantly impacting Germany's potential for a tennis medal.
Now, it's Musetti who is looking to secure a place in the final, following his victories against Zverev and potentially against Djokovic or Tsitsipas.
