Alexander Zverev got into an ugly moment at the Rome Open after his opening round victory at the Rome open. Following a dominant straight-sets win over Camilo Ugo Carabelli, Zverev was asked how it felt to finally get a solid result under his belt, especially after some early exits at Masters events this year. The German, however, took offense to the framing of the question and snapped back on live television.
“Couple of early exits in the masters this year- so how nice to, you know, to get one under your belt here,” the reporter asked.
“I mean, I didn’t but you know, I won a tournament two weeks ago so I don’t really like to think about it,” said Zverev. “It’s your job thinking about stupid questions, and the match was an hour long- so I’ll leave it up to you,” he added.
Zverev, was clearly not expecting to be hit by a negative question after putting on a dominant display during the night session. The outburst, which aired live on television, quickly drew attention from fans, many criticizing Zverev for his dismissive tone. While athletes often face repetitive or uncomfortable questions, Zverev’s sharp retort might just have been unnecessarily harsh.
The 2020 US Open finalist has had a mixed season, balancing flashes of strong form with inconsistent results. Though he recently claimed a title in Munich, questions around his performance in high-stakes Masters events remain relevant—making the reporter’s query far from unreasonable.
As Zverev moves deeper into his Rome draw, it remains to be seen whether this ugly media moment will linger or be quickly overshadowed by his on-court performance.
