26-year-old German tennis player Alexander Zverev has been in the news recently, but not for reasons he would like. The World No. 16, who is participating in the BMW Open right now, has come under fire for his comments in a recent interview. In the interview, Zverev looked back on his 2022 French Open clash with Rafael Nadal.

Following the backlash he received in the wake of his interview, Zverev has responded to his critics. In his response, Zverev lashed out at the press for misconstruing his comments.

The Rafael Nadal comments that landed Zverev in trouble

Around a week ago, Zverev sat down for an interview with Eurosport. The German opened up about his encounter against the King of Clay at the 2022 French Open. At the time, Zverev left the court in a wheelchair after sustaining an injury, and Nadal progressed to the next round. Until the encounter, Zverev boasted quite an impressive record against Nadal across previous encounters.

In the interview, Zverev stated that he believed he could get the better of Nadal had it not been for his injury. “For some reason I did”.  He added, “I felt like I was playing my best tennis that I’ve ever played on that surface. So for some reason, I did feel like I could compete with him, which I was doing.”

Following the interview, the press made quite a meal of it, and it didn’t take long for Nadal fans to lash out at the German on social media. Following several days of relentless criticism, Zverev felt the need to address the situation.

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Zverev issues clarification in latest interview

Zverev told Sky Sports that the press “twisted” his words “to make it more marketable and create a false story”. Furthermore, according to Zverev, he only stated that he felt he could compete against Nadal on the Spaniard’s favorite surface. “I would never have said in my life that I was the favorite against Nadal in Paris”.

The German added, “I just commented that I was looking competitive and we were having a great match”. Zverev also expressed his disappointment at the press. “If my words were reproduced verbatim by the press, I would be much more open to talking”.

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