Mr Zverev is world number 1. On Wednesday he lost to Lorenzo Musetti, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2, in the second round of the Rolex Paris Masters. It was his first match at that rank.
Afterwards he put it simply: “To put it simply, he played very well, I played very badly.” Then: “I played badly. There is no excuse.” He did point out that the court was very fast. We believe him.
He had been annoyed for a day or two, because people kept asking him why he was number 1. He won Roland-Garros and then the US Open this year. He said: “I think I deserve to be where I am.”
In Couvin, when somebody’s rice tart won at the parish competition, people ate it. Nobody asked the baker to justify first prize in front of the other tarts. They had a second slice and talked about the weather, which was perishing. The baker slept well, and came back the next year.
Here, he was asked for two days to explain his tart. He explained it, again and again.
From 15 to 22 November, the ATP Finals in Turin bring together the eight best players of the season. Someone should tell them there that a number 1 can be allowed to play before being asked why.
Those who asked the questions did not lose on Wednesday.
It’s true, we checked: RTBF Sport.
