"You will never convince me Alexander Zverev is gonna win a Slam" - Fans react as German suffers shocking Indian Wells exit as No. 1 seed

Fans reacted to Alexander Zverev's shock defeat in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells as he failed to capitalize on Jannik Sinner's absence. Amid the World No. 1's doping ban, the German has a chance to close the gap at the top but his slump in form has come at a bad time.

On Friday, March 7, Zverev, the top seed at the Masters 1000 event at Indian Wells, took to the court to face Tallon Griekspoor. The World No. 2 was coming off the back of a disappointing South American swing with a 4-3 record.

Zverev, however, started strong winning the first set, but the Dutchman played impressive tennis to bag the next two sets and register a 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4) win.

The score was posted on Reddit, with one fan claiming how happy Jannik Sinner would be looking at such results. They wrote:

"Sinner must be smiling with glee seeing how pathetic the ATP is right now. He's going to go full Terminator on the tour when he comes back."

Comment byu/hawaiianmonkseal from discussion intennis

Another fan wrote that they will never be convinced of Zverev's chances of winning a Major.

"I’m sorry but you will never convince me Zverev is gonna win a slam. Makes it to three finals and chokes all of them. Has a very clear path at #1 and fumbles horribly. He has all the talent and zero clutch. It’s beautiful," the fan wrote.

Comment byu/hawaiianmonkseal from discussion intennis

Fans on X (formerly Twitter) reacted to Alexander Zverev's loss, claiming he does not have what it takes to be No. 1.

"I'll just say it as it is. Zverev has shown us time and time again why he's not good enough to win a slam, or even be the world no.2," one fan wrote

"A chance for #1 was looming so he started choking again recently," another fan wrote.

"Dude does not play like a 2 seed thank for he’s not our number 1 he does not deserve that," a third fan wrote

"Hard being a Zverev fan. Has made zero gains on Sinner. Passive, frustrating Tennis. Overly reliant on his serves and his opponents making errors," yet another fan added.

World No. 1 Sinner has not played since winning the Australian Open and will be sidelined till May due to his doping ban. This is a good time for Zverev to earn points and narrow down Sinner's lead at the top. The German's slump in form, however, is keeping him away from earning the World No. 1 spot for the first time.

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Alexander Zverev opens up about his World No. 1 bid amid Jannik Sinner's doping suspension

Alexander Zverev and Jannik Sinner with their 2025 Australian Open trophies - Source: Getty

Despite missing Indian Wells, Jannik Sinner has only extended his lead over Alexander Zverev in the rankings. With Zverev dropping 190 points after his exit, Sinner now holds a commanding 3,385-point advantage at No. 1 in the live rankings. Meanwhile, World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz remains a distant contender.

After his loss, during the press conference, Zverev weighed in on his fading chances of claiming the top spot.

"For me, I have to find my game before thinking about that, because to become World No. 1, you have to win tournaments. I'm not past getting first, second round at the moment. So I need to figure that out first," Alexander Zverev said.

Zverev will next take to the courts at the Masters 1000 event in Miami and hope to close the gap to No. 1 with a deep run.