ALEXANDER ZVEREV SAYS JUST 17 WORDS IN AWKWARD WIMBLEDON PRESS CONFERENCE

Alexander Zverev said just 17 words in an excruciatingly awkward press conference at Wimbledon. He was speaking to the press following his second round straight sets victory over Marcos Giron, only he wasn't because the journalists didn't bother to ask him any questions.

It wasn't until the moderator stepped in and asked Zverev to sum up his performance that things go going. But even then the conference only lasted a few seconds.

"Alex, how would you assess your level today?" the German was asked, before responding bluntly: "It was good, good match. Good level. All in all, [I'm] happy with being through in straight sets."

A monent of awkward silence followed before the bizarre spectacle was brought to a close. It comes less than a month after Zverev was at the centre of a spiky press conference after reaching the final of the French Open.

Zverev went on to lose to Carlos Alcaraz in five sets in the final, marking the second Grand Slam final defeat of his career. His other came at the US Open in 2020 where he was beaten by Dominic Thiem.

The best he's ever done at Wimbledon is reach the fourth round, despite making it to at least the semi-finals of every other major. He's now two wins away from beating his personal best at SW19, but standing in his way in the third round is Britain's Cameron Norrie, who overcame compatriot Jack Draper in round two.

Victory there would likely set up a fourth round clash with Taylor Fritz, though the American needs to get past Chile's Alejandro Tabilo first. Zverev has been in tip-top form throughout 2024, having reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in January, and the final of the French in June - where he fell agonisingly short of winning his first Slam.

But his history on grass leaves a lot to be desired, and if he has any ambitions of breaking his duck at the All England Club he'll need to step things up a gear or two.

2024-07-05T09:58:40Z dg43tfdfdgfd