Germany’s Alexander Zverev has become the latest high-profile seed to crash out of Wimbledon after losing a five-set marathon against former French Open semi-finalist Ernests Gulbis.
The third seed could win only three out of the last 15 games as he suffered a 7-6(2), 4-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-0, loss to the Latvian. Zverev, who reached the fourth found at The All England Club last year, admitted afterwards that he was not at his physical best. In recent days the German has been suffering from a sickness bug. Insisting that best-of-five sets matches are usually not too much for him on the tour.
“I felt fine. I was tired from probably having a stomach bug, not eating for over 24 hours.” Zverev said during his press conference. “That probably had something to do with it.”
“I showed in Paris and other matches that I don’t really get tired in five-set matches. Today I definitely did. It felt like somebody just unplugged me in the middle of the fourth set. There was no going back there for me.”
Zverev’s defeat continues his woes at the grand slams despite his talent on the tour. The world No.3 has only managed to reach the quarter-finals of a major in one out of 13 attempts. His sole success occurred earlier this year at the French Open where he lost to Dominic Thiem in the last eight. Zverev is the only player outside of the Big Four to win multiple titles at Masters level.
“I started actually off well. I had breakpoints at the beginning of the fourth. But things happen. It’s not a secret in our sport. Unfortunately, that’s it for me for this year. But I’ll be back. I’ll do the best I can to prepare myself for the hard courts now.” He concluded.
Praise for Gulbis
In the midst of clear disappointment, Zverev acknowledged the performance of his opponent. 29-year-old Gulbis has become the first qualifier to reach the last 16 at Wimbledon since Brian Baker back in 2012. He is a former top 10 player, but has drifted down the rankings due to a combination of injury setbacks and mixed results on the tour.
“He played well. No doubt about it. He’s playing well. The quallies and everything gave him a lot of confidence. He’s won six matches now already. I actually thought I didn’t play that bad.” Zverev said of his performance against the Latvian.
Despite a current ranking of 138, Gulbis has had a reputation of being a giant-killer in the majors. He has now defeated eight top-10 players at a grand slam. Although Zverev is the first he has defeated (not counting retirements) since Tomas Berdych at the 2014 French Open.
Reflecting on his shock triumph, Gulbis has credited his resurgence to a reunion with coach Gunther Bresnik. Somebody whom he has had a on and off relationship with throughout his career. Bresnik is also Thiem’s coach.
“I was just struggling with some injuries. I was half a year completely out. I didn’t play. It was last year.” He reflected.
“ I was on and off with my coach, Gunter Bresnik. Now we’re back together. As soon as we’re back together, put in the work for at least half a year, the results are coming. It was the same story in 2013. The results started to come after approximately half a year of work.”
Gulbis will play either Nick Kyrgios or Kei Nishikori in the next round.
