Alexander Zverev has continued his winning run at the Italian Open after securing a spot in the last 16.
In Rome, Zverev had to remind a reporter he won the BMW Open last month, which represented his 24th ATP Tour title.
Zverev has now stormed into the Italian Open round of 16, easing past Camilo Ugo Carabelli and Vilius Gaubas.
Handed a bye in round one, the German second seed beat the former 6-2, 6-1 in round two and the latter 6-4, 6-0 in round three.
The world number two now faces 13th seed Arthur Fils, with the Frenchman having just knocked out Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Photo by PIERO CRUCIATTI/AFP via Getty ImagesAlexander Zverev confused by ‘very strange’ balls at the Italian Open
But defending champion Zverev hasn’t been entirely pleased with this year’s ATP Masters 1000 event, having been asked after his latest win if he finds the courts faster or slower compared to other years.
“The balls are much slower this year,” he said. “I don’t know what they did with the balls again. Obviously we’re playing with the Dunlop balls throughout the whole clay court season. In Monte-Carlo and Munich and Madrid, we played with extremely fast balls.
“We played with a fast ball. The ball was very, very big as well. I arrived here… I mean, it’s possibly the same ball, but it’s not the same ball. There’s no chance.
“I’m stringing my racket about three kilos less than anywhere else during the clay court season. That’s what makes it slower. That’s what makes the big difference compared to last year, I think is the ball. Very strange.
“I don’t know what to say because the same company. They try to tell us it’s the same ball, but there’s no chance in the world that it is.”
Alexander Zverev says how important the French Open is for him
The Italian Open continues the clay court season, and notably builds up towards the French Open in Paris.
The next Grand Slam of 2025 gets underway later this month, with Zverev having lost the most recent final.
He was beaten by Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final in January, and indeed lost last year’s French Open final to Carlos Alcaraz.
Those defeats came after he fell to Dominic Thiem in the 2020 US Open final, meaning Zverev has lost all three of his career Grand Slam finals.
Photo by Andy Cheung/Getty Images
He is, however, feeling upbeat ahead of the French Open, having been asked if he feels like his goals are up again as he eyes the top prize at Roland Garros.
“Yeah, I mean, Roland Garros is my main goal, that’s for sure,” he said. “I’ve said that last year. I think the Grand Slams are my main targets.
Alexander Zverev Grand Slam final record
“In Australia I was in the finals. Of course it was very bitter, just sad for me to lose the way I lost in Australia. But luckily we have four chances a year.
“For me Roland Garros is always kind of the one I’m looking forward to the most. I hope I can play good tennis there, yeah, just show my strengths.”