JAKARTA - When they lost their opening match against Tallon Griekspoor at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, Friday local time or Saturday WIB, Alexander Zverev admitted that he played badly.
The defeat left Zverev behind Jannik Sinner with a difference of 3,385 points. After his defeat, the German was asked how much he wanted to get up to No. 1 ATP ranking.
"It was only at the beginning. Now it's no longer, because I played badly," Zverev said in a post-match press conference, as broadcast by ATP, quoted from ANTARA, Saturday, March 8.
"So for me, I have to find my game before thinking about it, because to be No. 1 in the world, you have to win the tournament. I haven't been able to get through the first half, the second at the moment. So I have to find out first."
Zverev, who will remain in 2nd place even if Carlos Alcaraz defends his Indian Wells title, reached the Australian Open final in January. Since then, he has recorded a 4-4 loss, was eliminated early in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, and SCAPulco.
"In the end, I didn't play tennis well at the moment," said Zverev, who saved five match points in the third set against Griekspoor before losing the tie-break, with a final score of 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-7(7).
"It's that simple. I didn't play at the level I wanted to play, obviously didn't play close to what I played in Australia. I'm just disappointed with my game. That's the number 1 thing for me."
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The 27-year-old is scheduled to play at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami in two weeks. Zverev is ready to train on the pitch from now on until then in an effort to hone his game.
"It was just training. I practiced a lot. I played in the Australian Open final and started not practicing," said Zverev.
"I keep practicing, but right now I can't do it. I have to find a way to make it happen."
Zverev left Indian Wells with a record losing in the 13-9 tournament. He reached the quarter-finals in 2021 and 2024 in California, as he pursued his eighth ATP Masters 1000 title.
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