Alexander Zverev’s 10-match unbeaten streak came to an end at the hands of Taylor Fritz at the Halle Open.
The German had not been defeated since the Italian Open in May after winning Roland Garros and reaching the semi-finals of the Halle Open.
That came to an abrupt halt as he was defeated 6-7, 6-4, 7-5 to Fritz, who has been incredibly impressive on the grass court swing so far this season.
While Zverev did not play badly by any means, the German outlined the reason for his defeat while speaking to media in his post-match press conference.
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“I had huge problems with my blood sugar today,” explained the Roland Garros champion. “Unfortunately, just before the match, the sensor I use gave me an incorrect blood sugar reading. As a result, I injected far too much insulin.
“Then, during the match, or rather during the first 45 minutes, I had to consume almost 350 grams of sugar. At a certain point, it gets complicated. It’s a bit like drinking three and a half litres of cola during a match: you wouldn’t feel very well either.
“But I had to do it, otherwise I would have been constantly hypoglycemic. This is the first time that the device has malfunctioned so badly.
“I’ve been using this system since 2016, so for nine years, and this is the first time it’s been so wrong. That’s why I took that break in the first set. They put it back in place for me in the locker room.”
Despite his semi-final defeat to Fritz, Zverev remains one of the favourites to win the Wimbledon title, which begins on Monday, June 29th.
Zverev will be the second seed at Wimbledon this year, after Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal, and he will be hoping to win the second Grand Slam title of his career in London.
The World No 3’s main competitors look to be Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Fritz, and Ben Shelton, although Roland Garros proved that anything can happen at Grand Slams.
Several high-profile stars, including Alcaraz, Lorenzo Musetti, Holger Rune, and Valentin Vacherot, have already withdrawn from the Grand Slam.
Zverev has a relatively poor record at Wimbledon, having never made it past the fourth round of the Grand Slam. The star has been nocked out of that stage of the tournament on three occasions, in 2017, 2021, and 2024.
The star has also never won a grass court title in his career, so the odds are stacked against him at this year’s Wimbledon.
He has previously reached the final of the Halle Open and the Stuttgart Open, but failed to win either grass court title.