Toni Nadal, uncle of tennis legend Rafael, has slammed French Open runner-up Alexander Zverev’s on-court temperament.
Zverev missed out on the first Grand Slam title of his career during a scrappy five-set final against Carlos Alcaraz last week.
Alcaraz – who became the youngest man to win Grand Slams on all three surfaces – came from 2-1 down to take the Roland Garros title.
It was the second Grand Slam final defeat of Zverev’s career, with the German losing the 2020 US Open final to Dominic Thiem.
And coach Nadal believes Zverev’s mentality cost him in the French capital.
Writing for El Pais, Nadal said: “On the second point of the first game of the fourth set, after the great comeback in the previous set and after taking a 0-15 lead, Alexander made a trivial mistake and turned angrily to his corner to complain.
“A quarter of an hour later, in the blink of an eye, Alcaraz was already 4-0 ahead in this important set.”
The contest came down to a deciding set, but with Alcaraz in the mood, there was only going to be one winner.
Alcaraz took the final set 6-2 to confirm a famous victory on the Roland Garros clay, with Nadal bemoaning Zverev’s in-game management.
He added: “If Zverev has not managed to win a Grand Slam tournament so far, it is certainly because he has never managed to control this type of situation like at the start of the fourth set against Alcaraz.
“Carlos faced him in the fourth set after a hard-fought comeback without losing his calm, conviction and confidence in victory. Something that only great champions can achieve. I offer my most sincere compliments to Alcaraz.”
No sooner had Alcaraz lifted the Musketeers’ Cup did attention switch to the next Grand Slam on the tennis calendar.
Alcaraz will travel to London to defend his Wimbledon crown, having beaten Novak Djokovic during a dramatic final last year.
After that though, it’s a quick turnaround to get ready for the Paris Olympics, with Alcaraz set to form a formidable doubles partnership with 22-time Grand Slam winner Nadal.
Nadal – who is skipping this year’s Wimbledon to prepare for the Olympics – will team up with Alcaraz, despite the pair never having played together before.
Alcaraz boasts very little experience in the doubles event, but the Spaniard last year revealed it would be a ‘dream’ to partner Nadal for what is likely to be one of the star’s final events as a tennis professional.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk