Alexander Zverev failed in the quarterfinals at the ATP Masters in Indian Wells against Carlos Alcaraz in two sets. For the German number one, there is no reason to worry, more to be cautious.
by Daniel Hofmann
last edited: March 15, 2024, 9:25 p.m
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The loss to Carlos Alcaraz shouldn’t be a cause for concern.
With a smile at the net, Alexander Zverev congratulated his opponent Carlos Alcaraz on his victory. It certainly wasn’t a smile of joy at defeat. If anything, it underlined the acceptance that there was nothing to be gained against a well-played Alcaraz that day after their own weaker performance.
The 26-year-old can take a lot of positive things away from these days. By moving into the round of the last eight players, he will move past Andrey Rublev into fifth place in the world rankings next Monday. In Miami, the 21-time tour champion can collect more points at the next Masters tournament, as there are no points to defend there. Fourth place, which Daniil Medvedev currently occupies, has a total of 2,500 points. Further climbing in the ranking can only be achieved with the clay court season.
Zverev has to prepare for the sand
And that’s exactly when Alexander Zverev should be well prepared for the start. The result against Carlos Alcaraz could certainly also be explained by the form on the day, but the gap to the currently best four players cannot be allowed to increase. In addition, many of the players behind the German are willing to achieve big results on the Ashes.
Last year, Zverev made it to the round of 16 at the clay court masters in Monte Carlo, Rome and Madrid. There is room for improvement there too. Last year’s semi-final at the French Open is certainly the minimum goal. However, reaching for the big title is still what will outshine everything.
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