Zverev says Tsitsipas didn’t play well and that the match was pathetic
- Thread starter Aussie Darcy
- Start date
Alba Barragan
Professional
Except for the little fact that Zverev didn't tweet that (it was a comment from his press conference, he doesn't even use Twitter), I totally agree with these three posts. Especially Bukowski's.
I've seen dozens of players say similar comments to this one after a bad match. Most of them don't get a thread to discuss such incidents. In fact, one of my favorite players and probably the player who is most adored in this forum, Roger Federer, is known for giving press conferences with content similar to this one after a bad defeat. So I don't understand why so many people with usernames and avatars that contain a reference to Fed can come and give such a hard time to Zverev when they turn their sight away every time Roger says comments like these:
As a fan of both Zverev and Tsitsipas, and having seen them play many times in the past, I can say both have had better days than today. I don't think the match was particularly bad, on the contrary, there were some pretty amazing points in it, the match was exciting and overall very entertaining but IMO it was mostly due to the tension in it and how inconsistent both were.
Did Tsitsipas play extremely well? No. But he did just enough to defeat his opponent. Did Zverev have a pathetic match? Absolutely. He had complete control of it and threw it away. So Zverev has a point. Doesn't take away the fact he's coming across as a sore loser. It also doesn't mean he's the antichrist and the epitome of arrogance when many players have said things exactly like this. This incident is nothing compared to what other players (including NextGen players) have said/done.
flanker2000fr
Hall of Fame
This is what I wrote in the other thread:
I like Zverev, but that's a pretty crass comment. I understand he's frustrated having lost to Tsitsipas, who he spanked in Washington last week, but he should be a bit more gracious in defeat. Some growing up is still required, apparently.
I like Zverev, but that's a pretty crass comment. I understand he's frustrated having lost to Tsitsipas, who he spanked in Washington last week, but he should be a bit more gracious in defeat. Some growing up is still required, apparently.
Nadalgaenger
G.O.A.T.
Yup. And then there’s this gem: (skip to 2:13 or so)
“Some players grow up and play like that” lol!
“I don’t understand how you can play a shot like that. I grew up working hard...”
Fed completely talking out of his a^% for most of this presser! Gives Novak virtually no credit for an extremely clutch comeback!
Last edited:
Federer used to say such things routinely when he was younger but he changed with the social media explosion in the last few years. Now every word is scrutinized, so he is more subtle with his digs.
Meles
Bionic Poster
Good posting pasta. Lol people in this thread posting that Nadal vs. Wawrinka was good tennis. It was just a matchup that allowed Wawrinka to play a bit, but his game is still way off on the whole. Nadal vs Cilic was decent level from the bits I watched on replay (Marin had been playing out of his mind coming into the match.) Still just can't get excited about a player like Cilic.
The Zverev vs. Tsitsipas was a fabulous match. Tsistsipas was on fumes for the whole match after dispatching Djokovic and his stellar first serving (nearly 70% first serves and 95% first serve points won against Thiem and unbroken in three sets against Djokovic) was on life support with the poor first serve percentage against Zverev. What saved him is he had a lot of heaviness and action on this 2nd serve which didn't allow Zverev to tee off on it like their last encounter at Citi Open.
The amazing thing was he was ready to go down, but still had the incredible intelligence and toughness to leap upon the hapless Zverev when he was trying to serve out at 5-3 in the 2nd. The 2nd set breaker was tremendous play by both, but Tsitsipas just really took care of business given his condition.
Just an utter and complete trolling of Zverev while on fumes; brilliant stuff by TsitsiFast. So many tremendous forehands and just amazing, amazing stuff. Zverev's failure in this match was his pathetic 2nd serving where he rolled in every 2nd serve plummeting to 36% 2nd serve one at the end of the match.
Zverev's assessment shows that he has no idea how Tsitsipas beat him. Agree 1000% that we now have a compelling matchup for the next decade. TsitsiFast looks like he's got the game to beat Zverev on all surfaces and that's scary given he's 16 months younger.
Milehigh5280
Professional
It's cliche but "show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser"
Zverev was first to get high in the rankings,but that doesn't mean he'll be the best. Look at Federer's generation - Hewitt,Safin,Ferrero made a splash before he did...
Fabresque
Legend
Ok look, the match was bad, neither were playing lights out. But it’s obvious if Zverev won he wouldn’t say anything about the quality. He’s just salty af.
I’ve never liked him in general, he always seemed smug, arrogant, full of himself, self centered, whatever. This and countless other examples (disrespecting his coach Ferrero for one) really drive that point home. And as a @papertank said above, regardless of how bad idiots like Kyrgios and Tomic act, they would never stoop so low as to discredit an opponent and drag him through the mud because they’re salty they lost (at least not yet).
No class Mr. Alexander Zverev, none at all.
I’ve never liked him in general, he always seemed smug, arrogant, full of himself, self centered, whatever. This and countless other examples (disrespecting his coach Ferrero for one) really drive that point home. And as a @papertank said above, regardless of how bad idiots like Kyrgios and Tomic act, they would never stoop so low as to discredit an opponent and drag him through the mud because they’re salty they lost (at least not yet).
No class Mr. Alexander Zverev, none at all.
Bartelby
Bionic Poster
The point is to be a good loser in public and some call that a 'poker face', or not letter the opponent know how much your victory hurt them.
Fabresque
Legend
In every single quote Federer was a multi slam champion and was going by his business and made those remarks.
And he’s right about Djoker 2011. Djokovic wasn’t playing like he was still gonna win, he went for it, it worked, and it was like a Rub Goldberg machine after that, perfectly set up for Djokovic to now gain the crowd support, and make his astonishing comeback. But like Fed said it all started with a lucky shot out of nowhere.
Zverev has 1 Slam QF to his name, nobody even cares about the kid much.
Gary Duane
G.O.A.T.
Never read a more spot on post from you. Nailed it.
Alba Barragan
Professional
Even Tsitsipas knows the level of the match wasn't great 
His words:
TennisNow @Tennis_Now
Tsitsipas said he knew about Zverev's quotes on the quality of play, and said this about the match: "The level of tennis today, in my opinion, was not the highest. It was all right. People seemed to love it, love the show and everything. But I played--I would say I played okay."
His words:TennisNow @Tennis_Now
Tsitsipas said he knew about Zverev's quotes on the quality of play, and said this about the match: "The level of tennis today, in my opinion, was not the highest. It was all right. People seemed to love it, love the show and everything. But I played--I would say I played okay."
duaneeo
Legend
Gary Duane
G.O.A.T.
Mainad
Bionic Poster
If he genuinely thinks Tsitsipas played poorly then it only reflects even worse on him for losing, then. What possible excuse can he offer for doing that? He was considered the favourite for defending his title and had played with great confidence up to that point so how does he account for the fact that he played even more poorly than a poorly playing opponent? That is not what champions do!
ak24alive
Legend
I think telling someone mid-match at their face that Kokkinakis banged their girlfriend and shouting multiple obscenities at a female umpire are far worse. These are signs of being mentally unstable. What Z said is being a sore loser at worse. Also he was right to some degree. The match was not high quality. It was high drama though which often leads people to think that it was a high quality match. Look at the numbers and see how high the quality was. Anyways what Z said was totally uncalled for but can't top Krygios and Fognini. Sorry to tell you that mate.
I have been on the Z hate train for long enough but arrogance and behaviour were never my reasons. And I certainly don't want to be a hypocrite thinking that Krygios and Fognini are any better than him. They are certainly worse.
Mainad
Bionic Poster
Im(moral) Winner
G.O.A.T.
I think this is the classiest response ever given on that subject:
Mainad
Bionic Poster
That was before Amor Y Paz. He has stopped beating his chest and swearing at the crowd and now just throws his boobs at them.
HetTheGreaterer
Banned
Zverev totally choked match
Yoneyama
Hall of Fame
Not a Zverev fan much at all, but it's so refreshing to hear some truth and emotion in these press conferences (he could have been a bit less of a brat about it though). Most top players are SO BORING and just use generic responses... "yeah he played great... he won the important points... I was inconsistent... etc etc".
Big_Dangerous
Talk Tennis Guru
How does that make any sense? Wouldn't Zverev have played in the more pathetic loser way? He did, after all, lose the match.
Either way, these comments are disgraceful and disrespectful. It's okay, to be honest about yourself and say that you didn't play well or you choked/got tight trying to close the match out. It's another thing to give no credit to your opponent and basically say that he played poorly, especially when you lost the match. I mean if I lost a match and then said my opponent didn't even play well, what does that say about how I played? Not classy, not respectful, and just a genuine ****** thing to say.
Big_Dangerous
Talk Tennis Guru
Goes both ways though. I've seen Djokovic do plenty of arrogant things on the court and say plenty of things that people might deem classless in his press conferences. He's also broken way more racquets on the court than Fed and Rafa.
PrinceMoron
Legend
And he did not challenge that out call in the last game at 30-15
I should put it on Twitter for him to view
It was 80% of the ball on the line and he never even saw it, despite being 6’6”
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Gary Duane
G.O.A.T.
This is something I hugely respect about Novak, and I think Murray is much the same.I think this is the classiest response ever given on that subject:
No one likes to lose, but you can tell a great deal about any person by how they handle losses.
Milehigh5280
Professional
I think this is the classiest response ever given on that subject:
Yeah, Nole has become a great example of how to be gracious in defeat while maintaining a winner's mentality.
duaneeo
Legend
I guess for the sake of tennis remaining a, uh, 'classy' sport, many fans only want 'graciousness' from the players.
Post-match comments don't bother me. The only show of 'graciousness' I expect from the players is to shake the opponent's hand after the match. When it comes to the interview, I want the players to express what they feel. Whether the players feel they lost because they blew the match, or because of their opponent's gamesmanship, or because they were injured, or because their opponent was too good, say so.
Post-match comments don't bother me. The only show of 'graciousness' I expect from the players is to shake the opponent's hand after the match. When it comes to the interview, I want the players to express what they feel. Whether the players feel they lost because they blew the match, or because of their opponent's gamesmanship, or because they were injured, or because their opponent was too good, say so.
texasleaguer
Rookie
when you win, make fun of opponents weakness. when you lose, make fun of his strengths.
ak24alive
Legend
Azure
G.O.A.T.
Disagree here. When you are a multi slam champion you have seen a lot more. You can afford to be more gracious and give an up and comer a better word. Calling Nadal one dimensional when he was a multi slam champion was not right at all. That said I like the way he has grown up since then and giving credit to Rafa after all these years. There's genuine respect now.
ak24alive
Legend
For most part Rog was okay. The worst part for me was, "I grew up working hard...".
But then he explained that Novak probably has been hitting like that for 20 years. Still it was clear he was being a sore loser.
I actually liked the honesty here. And he did give credit to Novak, a lot of it. Just start watching from 5:30. He said that when Novak plays like that it's difficult to counter his play.
Also the 'confidence' part was absolute gold lol. He couldn't digest the fact that, that FH took away the match from him.
ak24alive
Legend
Yes I agree. Although at the time it was true that Rafa was a one dimensional player but he shouldn't have said it I guess. But it seems like he was actually trying to discuss tennis there rather than taking a dig at Rafa.
Fed actually said at Miami04 or 05 that he is trying to win as much as he can before Rafa matures and wins everything. I think the respect was always there.
Azure
G.O.A.T.
The same can be said of Zverev too. As a professional player he is aware that the match was bad quality. Look in this era even saints can be made to look bad. I think the big three in general have been tremendous ambassadors of a sport we love. I think Zverev if he wins slams will not be a bad example to kids out there either.
ak24alive
Legend
Absolutely. I don't have any problem with Z's behaviour or anything. I think he was being honest. He could have handled it better though. But it's no major problem like people here make it out to be.
I don't think Fed is a saint or a God(although I worship him like one
) or Zverev is evil. They are both somewhere in between. And both are okay.
HetTheGreaterer
Banned
And he did not challenge that out call in the last game at 30-15
I should put it on Twitter for him to view
It was 80% of the ball on the line and he never even saw it, despite being 6’6”
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Zverev gone....
Cilic choked too.. (that ugly smash )
And now none can stop rafa nadal from vulturing another hard court masters......
Really missing fed
King No1e
G.O.A.T.
None of the big 3 would say any such thing ever.
King No1e
G.O.A.T.
Not sure Federer can maintain his 2017 form this year, Rafa has only become more dominant and will probably beat Federer unless they play at Cincy or indoor
Honestly, Zverev is an arrogant sore loser. I thought there were many exciting rallies, which made this an enjoyable match. I was very impressed with Stefano's all court game. Not bad for a 19 year old.
accidental
Hall of Fame
Ask any racer, any real racer. It doesn't matter if you win by an inch or a mile, winning's winning.
Tennis_Hands
Banned
zverev2018
Semi-Pro
Zed in the new Fed. He will be the GOAT, but he will also choke some matches. It comes with the territory.
Steve0904
Talk Tennis Guru
We call Djokovic a good loser all the time and that guy has 13 slams. Comments like these from any player are never in good taste, I don't care how pathetic the match actually was or how honest Zverev is being. The only thing that would even slightly justify comments like this is winning slams consistently. Like 5-6 in a career, say.
Because at least then, nobody can really roast him for being an underachiever to this point. He can be as arrogant as he wants and people will just have to eat crow and watch him win slams. And I don't know, maybe that's what will happen eventually. It wouldn't surprise me one bit. I also know I'm a pathetic plebeian on a tennis forum and he's a tall blond handsome millionaire or whatever the hell @zverev2018 calls him, but while he's a one slam QF wonder he should keep comments like this to himself. It will only motivate other players to beat him, and the sad part is that I don't think he realizes it.
So I am not a fan of Z, but I’m also not a hater and think he has a huge upside. I just saw the press conference now, and he is really positioning of self as the villain/guy with the black hat in the western movie. Very weird press conference, followed by the odd comments of Tsisipas about their relationship. These are two young guys who are going to be on tour long time. They don’t have to be friends, but it was just some odd comments going back-and-forth.
a10best
Hall of Fame
No.. Zverev elaborated about Tsitisipas' 125mph serve to his BH saying that he returns all the time with ease in a smug disrespectful way. He is being honest and showing us all who he truly is.
He is by far the biggest jerk I've ever heard at a post match presser.
He lost more fans and gained hate like democrats have towards opposition.
What's pathetic is he's a brat (similar to the way Harrison was(or still is). Ryan was never a top10 player so he's fortuanate to not be in that situation. Mischa and his parents should have done a better job of teaching him manners.
Makes you rethink his fake congratulatory speech at the Citi Open the previous week.
Similar threads
