Zverev takes another swipe at the ATP: "At the end of the day, it's not rest"

Alexander Zverev certainly doesn't like the new Masters 1000 format. The world number 5, a member of the ATP Players' Council, has been at it again since Rome. After his defeat in Madrid, he explained that the switch from 7- to 12-day Masters 1000 tournaments favours lower-ranked players, but he persisted at the press conference.

On the sidelines of his first match in Rome, against Aleksandar Vukic (ranked 70th in the world), the German returned to the subject of the format change initiated by the ATP. Very annoyed by this choice, he explains: "The two-week Masters 1000s are excellent for players ranked between 50 and 100 in the world, as they now have the chance to enter the main draw (which now comprises 96 players instead of 56). But that's not the case for players in the top 10. [...] They say you don't have to play every day. At the end of the day, that's not rest. Rest means spending time at home, sleeping in your own bed, spending time with your family, your dogs, your children. A day between two matches, if you're away from home, is not rest. If you go far in the events, if you try to reach the semi-finals or finals of each event, you're away a lot longer and you have to work a lot harder." (comments relayed by L'Equipe).

Asked about the cascade of withdrawals since Madrid, the German champion again took the ATP to task, claiming that the season lasts too long (currently 11 months): An 11-month season, as is the case at the moment, doesn't allow us to recover sufficiently. It's not enough time to rest the body. Nor is it enough time to prepare the body physically. [...] Physical preparation isn't about the amount of training you do on the court, or the number of matches you play. It's really about the amount of work you do off the court, in the gym or on the athletics track... that you can't do during the season."