I don't know who had this idea, it's so stupid," Zverev criticizes Hamburg tournament's place in the schedule
Alexander Zverev was not initially supposed to participate in the ATP 500 in Hamburg but ultimately decided to accept a wild-card for this tournament, which is dear to him, after an early exit in Rome.
During a press conference before his debut in the tournament, he criticized its new position in the calendar—originally held in July but now moved to the week before Roland-Garros.
In comments reported by Tennis Actu, he stated: "I love playing in Hamburg. I would love to play here every year. I just don’t know who came up with the idea of scheduling Hamburg one day before Roland-Garros.
It’s so stupid. I don’t know who had this idea. No top player who can win Roland-Garros can play the final in Hamburg on Saturday and then play the first round on Monday in Paris.
We play a best-of-five-sets tournament at Roland, you have to prepare physically, you need to sleep in the bed where you’ll be staying for the next two weeks.
The week before Roland-Garros, Alcaraz won’t play, Djokovic won’t play. Sinner signed up because he was suspended and had to play a tournament (he ultimately withdrew).
Unfortunately, it kind of killed Hamburg. We had a great lineup last year.
