Zverev: 'Not too much wrong with my game'

Alexander Zverev’s new-found momentum took a hit on Tuesday at the Mutua Madrid Open, where he suffered a fourth-round defeat to Francisco Cerundolo. The German was on a seven-match winning run after triumphing in Munich and was looking to add to his two Madrid titles in the Spanish capital.

However, unlike defeats in Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo earlier in the season, the No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings played down concerns following his most recent loss.

“In the end of the day, I don't think I played terrible. The match before Munich when I was losing, I was losing because of me. I was losing because I was playing bad and I was missing and I was maybe not brave enough,” Zverev said. “I cannot really say that today.

“Maybe I played one bad game at 6-5 in the first set, but this is one game per match, this can happen. But all in all, I feel like my game is improving and I feel like there is not too much wrong with my game. I just feel like that today my opponent was better than me and this can happen in sport.”

Zverev now trails Cerundolo 0-3 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series, having also lost on clay to the Argentine in Buenos Aires earlier this year. The 28-year-old is not worried about the record, though.

“He played better than me today. He definitely played better than me last year when we played here. In Argentina it was a little bit of funny match. But to be honest, I didn't play terrible, he just played better than me,” Zverev said.

The German leaves Madrid second in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin and will next head to the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome, where he is the defending champion.