Zverev loses to Darderi in Italian Open 4th round

In Rome, world No. 3 Alexander Zverev suffered a stunning defeat to Italian Luciano Darderi in the fourth round of the Italian Open on Tuesday, falling 6-1, 7-6 (10), 6-0 after squandering four match points in the second-set tiebreak.

Zverev dominated early, capturing the first set in 28 minutes and building a 5-3 lead in the second. Darderi, ranked No. 20 and fueled by a raucous home crowd at the Foro Italico, mounted a comeback, saving match points at 5-6, 7-8, 8-9 and 9-10 in the tiebreak before winning it on his second set point. The Italian then cruised through the third set, winning the final seven games of the two-hour, 25-minute match for his first victory over a top-10 opponent and his maiden Masters 1000 quarterfinal.

Post-match, Zverev blamed the court conditions at the BNP Paribas Arena. "To be honest, the court, I think this is the worst court I've ever played on. Juniors, professional, futures, practice, I never played on a court where the court quality is that bad," he said. He described specific issues, including a ball jumping over his head on match point and rolling on break point, while noting the wind as an additional factor. Zverev acknowledged some fatigue...