Alexander Zverev continues his poor 2019 season after losing 3-6 7-5 7-6(5) in Barcelona to Nicolas Jarry.
The German battled back from a double break down in the final set however after wasting a match point, couldn’t beat the powerful Chilean.
It means that Zverev has only won three matches in five tournaments since reaching the Acapulco final, where he lost to Nick Kyrgios.
It was a positive start for the recently turned 22 year-old after he played fairly aggressively and took the first set 6-3 with some great play.
After a consistent first set, the German failed to control the match to his tempo as Jarry rallied back in the second set with some aggressive play of his own.
The Chilean brings an aggressive game to the court and has the confidence to beat anyone on his day although he is yet to win an ATP title.
A run of five games saw Zverev’s confidence get knocked as Jarry levelled the match and stormed into a double break lead in the decider.
If there is a positive to take from the ATP Finals champion’s play today, it’s the fight he showed to rally back and show some much-needed energy.
After breaking in three consecutive games it was a controlled match from both as this was a big match for both in their respective seasons.
A simple backhand miss on match point didn’t help Zverev as the world number 81 forced a final set tiebreak to settle the match.
In the end after a nervy 12 points, it was Jarry who kept his cool to earn one of the biggest wins of his career as Zverev continued his bad run of form.
Since falling ill in Acapulco, the German has only won three matches in five tournaments and admits he is in a dilemma, “I’m in a hole and I don’t know how to get out of it,” the German explained.
“I just play bad, it’s not a secret. I’m missing backhands all over the places, which is my best shot. I cannot make one impressive shot. I’m double faulting.”
The German now has titles in Munich and Madrid to defend before final points in Rome as he goes through the toughest time of his career.
As for Jarry he will now play Grigor Dimitrov or Fernando Verdasco in the third round.
