Tennis champion shades rival while slamming Wimbledon organisers over delays

Olympic champion Alexander Zverev has thrown shade over tennis rival Jannik Sinner, taking issue at the Italian's constant main-court appearances at Wimbledon.

The World no.8 opened his championships against Juan Manuel Cerundolo on Centre Court on Monday (July 3rd) with the match played under the retractable roof due to the inclement weather in SW19.

Defeating the Argentine in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, the 21-year-old was then placed on a court holding yet another adaptable covering, for his second-round match-up with Cerundolo's compatriot Diego Schwartzman.

And while several stars were still waiting to complete their first-round ties, a convincing 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 victory meant Sinner was booked into the third round of the competition by Wednesday (July 5th) – leading to Zverev questioning the scheduling from the Wimbledon committee.

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"I like Jannik very much – as a person and as a player. He's an incredible player and will still win a lot," said Zverev, speaking during his press conference. "But there were other names in the draw who hadn't played the first round yet.

"Like Matteo Berrettini who was already in the final here, or me. I don't know if Jannik has to be put on a court with a roof for a second-round match. There were other names who have achieved more in tennis than Jannik.

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"I think they had options there. There is a reason why a Grand Slam tournament lasts two weeks: because we need breaks between the best-of-five matches. Breaks that I won’t have in the next few days. Looking ahead to the second week, that’s definitely not an advantage physically."

The Grand Slam is publicised as a predominantly outdoor tournament but the erratic weather at this year's Championships has seen main court matches forced to play under the retractable roofs.

A gold medal winner at Tokyo 2021, Zverev faces 2021 finalist Berrettini on Court 1 this afternoon (July 8th) aiming to reach the fourth round for only the third time in his career.

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