ALEXANDER ZVEREV LAMBASTED OVER 'DELUSIONAL' COMMENTS ON JANNIK SINNER AND CARLOS ALCARAZ

Alexander Zverev looks on during his match

Former doubles world No 1 Rennae Stubbs has described Alexander Zverev as “delusional” following the German’s comments about Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

Zverev was dismantled 6-1, 6-2 by world No 1 Sinner in just 58 minutes in the Madrid Open final last week — his ninth consecutive loss to the Italian star.

Following the match, Zverev controversially claimed that Sinner is ahead of “everybody else” and placed himself in a category with Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.

“Well, I think there’s a big gap between [Jannik] Sinner and everybody else right now,” said the world No 3.

“It’s quite simple. I think there’s a big gap between Sinner and everybody else.

“And I think there’s a big gap between [Carlos] Alcaraz, myself, maybe Novak [Djokovic], and everybody else. I think there are two gaps right now.”

Stubbs reacted to what Zverev said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, and the six-time major doubles champion did not hold back.

“The delusion. The delusion,” said Stubbs. “And here’s the thing. If he had said this, my respect level for him would go up. If he said, ‘Look, bottom line is, I’m a really good player. I get to a lot of finals. I get to a lot of semis. I usually beat every player,’ which is not the case, because who did he lose to the week before?

“It’s like, ‘I usually win X and Y matches, but the standard between Jannik and Carlos is clearly, as you can see by the points category, head and shoulders above me. I need to improve and figure out a way to even remotely push these two guys’.

“That, I would be like, respect, right? But to lump himself in with Carlos Alcaraz — who has literally won every major title, all of them, all four, by the age of like 21 — is insanity.

“And yet this guy, who has not even won a Grand Slam, is saying that he’s in that same category. Dude, what?

“And on top of it, can I add, the final was so bad, and he looked like a petulant child. And I know, apparently, from what Jim Courier said, he didn’t think he (Zverev) was 100%, whether he was injured or what was going on.

“But he looked like a petulant child who was in the sandbox and had thrown all his toys out and did not even think to dig his way out of anything. He tanked the last few games.”

- Ewan West