Alexander Zverev’s poor season has continued with the Olympic champion suffering a shock defeat to Danish teenager Holger Rune 6-3 6-2 at the Munich Open.
Zverev, a two-tim winner of the event, had received a bye in the first round as the top seed but the world No.3 had no answers on Wednesday to the promising 18-year-old Rune, who sits at No.70 in the rankings.
A stunned centre court could hardly believe how much he was dominated by the Dane, especially with drop shots.
Watch the latest sport on Channel 7 or stream for free on 7plus >>
Zverev also made a host of unforced errors en route to defeat in just over 90 minutes on Rune’s second match point.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the spectators, I’m sorry for the tournament,” the gloomy Zverev told a press conference.
He described the match as his “worst” in recent years, saying he played “without a forehand” for much of it.
“If I try to find an excuse now, I’m not the smartest person in the world,” he added.
“I was incredibly nervous today before the match. It was my first time in Germany in front of a crowd for years. I would have lost against anyone in the main draw today.”
Zverev has no titles so far this season and hit the headlines in February when he smashed his racquet into the umpire’s chair in Mexico, for which he was kicked out of the tournament, fined and given a suspended ban.
It was Rune’s first win against a top-10 player – and it looked as if it wouldn’t be his last.
“I have a lot of respect for him, and I obviously didn’t expect to win in two sets, and with a score like this. But it was a really hard match,” said the youngster.
English 
Arabic 
Spanish 
German 