Alexander Zverev was reportedly refused entry into a restaurant while in Rome for the Italian Open (Image: Getty)
Alexander Zverev was reportedly refused entry to a restaurant in Rome before facing a home favourite at the Italian Open. Zverev is the No. 2 seed this year and is a two-time former champion at the Foro Italico. But he struggled to get into a trendy dinner spot ahead of his fourth-round clash with Luciani Darderi.
Andrea Ruggieri, a columnist and former MP, said he was heading for an evening meal when he saw Zverev, his brother Mischa – an ex-player who now coaches Zverev – and a third friend struggling to get into the restaurant without a reservation.
“Only in Rome do they not recognise tennis players. The other night in Rome, I saw something incredible. I went to dinner at Zuma on the terrace around 10.15pm and arrived under the base at the entrance and found an incredible scene,” he told Emmanuel Marian and Roberto Marcora on the TennisTalker podcast.
“Zverev with his brother Mischa and a third friend of his. It didn’t take the bouncer long to realise he was making a fool of himself, but the fact is he couldn’t tell that those were Zverev, Mischa, and his friend, and he was bouncing them around like a pair of gatecrashers.”
Ruggieri’s encounter has been picked up by the Italian media, and Zuma refused to comment when contacted by Repubblica.
Things went from bad to worse for Zverev in Rome, as he suffered a huge collapse during his match against Darderi on Tuesday. The world No. 3 served for the match in the second set and got broken. He then had four match points in a tiebreak, but still dropped the second set, and was then bagelled to lose 1-6 7-6(10) 6-0.
Luciano Darderi saved four match points to beat Alexander Zverev at the Italian Open (Image: Getty)
“I mean, I did get tired. Whether it’s a sickness or I just played a lot of tennis… That’s one of the reasons,” the two-time Italian Open champion said afterwards. “Yeah, I think I should have won the match in two sets. That’s just the story from there. Of course, the third set went for him. He played amazing tennis. I should have won the match in two sets.”
Zverev also slammed the court conditions after losing to Darderi. After playing his first two matches of the tournament on Campo Centrale, the centre court, the second seed contested his fourth round on the second-biggest showcourt, the BNP Paribas Arena.
“It was difficult to play. I mean, 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 claimed.
“I have match point and the ball jumps over my head. I have break point, the ball rolls. Like yeah… The wind was tough. Overall, again, I just think I should have won the match in two sets. After that, yeah, he played fantastic.”
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