Top seed Zverev stunned by Griekspoor at Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS – World No. 2 Alexander Zverev, beaten by Tallon Griekspoor in his Indian Wells opener on March 7, said “terrible” play has pushed thoughts of supplanting Jannik Sinner atop the rankings out of his mind.

The German was the top seed in the prestigious ATP Masters event in the California desert as world No. 1 Sinner serves a belated three-month doping ban.

Zverev, runner-up to Sinner at the Australian Open, said the Italian’s enforced absence had at first had him harbouring ideas of climbing to the top. But they are now fading with his game.

“Now it’s less, because I’m just playing terrible,” said the 27-year-old, who also suffered early exits at Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Acapulco before his disastrous Indian Wells second-round showing.

He was the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017.

“I have to find my game before thinking about that, because to become world No. 1 you have to win tournaments,” Zverev added. “I’m not past getting first, second round at the moment. So I need to figure that out first.”

For a start, he said he had no specific explanation for his drop in form since the Australian Open.

In a pre-tournament press conference, he had pointed to illness in two of the three weeks of his “rough South American swing”. But after falling 4-6, 7-6 (7-5),7-6 (7-4) to 43rd-ranked Dutchman Griekspoor, he admitted that he simply was not playing well enough.

“I’m not playing a level that I want to play, definitely not playing anywhere near what I played in Australia,” he said.

After winning the first set against Griekspoor, Zverev had rallied from 2-5 down in the second to lead 6-5, but he was broken as he served for