World No. 3 Alexander Zverev hit out at a reporter during his post-conference on Thursday after reaching the third round at the French Open. Zverev came through in 5 sets against an inspired Sebastian Baez 2-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 7-5.

The German has been struggling on clay this season and is without any major title win in 2022. Moreover, Zverev has been in the spotlight after his infamous outburst earlier this year. The 25-year-old shouted at the umpire, followed by a repeated barrage of shots on the official’s chair with his racquet at the Mexican Open. As a result, he was fined $25,000 and handed a suspension for eight weeks from all ATP events.

Zverev’s aggressive confrontation

During the press conference, the German discussed the impact of social media and answered the reporter’s question, who was constantly looking into his phone. An aggravated Zverev then said, “Can you at least look at me when I am giving you an answer? Because you asked me that question and you were just on your phone.”

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Despite reaching a career-high ranking of 3, the Olympic gold medalist is yet to win a Grand Slam in his relatively young career. With the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, entering the fray he will aim to develop more consistency as the season progresses.

Alexander Zverev Opens Up on Mental Health Issues

World No. 3 also spoke about the issues faced by tennis players during their careers. With the likes of Naomi Osaka being more vocal about mental health issues in recent times, Zverev delivered his take on the matter.

He was quoted saying, “I never talk about it. I think some players talk about it more often and [are] more open. I don’t like to do that, but I was struggling a lot this year…So, yeah, not because of social media. I was struggling a lot because of other things, so I was not happy. I think I was quite depressed at times, as well, so, yeah. It’s all a big part.”

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Zverev has proved to be one of the integral parts of the new generation of stars, but there is a long way to go for the German before claiming his first Major victory in his career.