Maybe for the first time in my life I'll probably need it, Alexander Zverev says after Wimbledon exit

Dubai: Alexander Zverev is considering therapy and feels he might hire a mental coach for the first time in his playing career.

The German third seed suffered a shocking first-round exit at Wimbledon on Tuesday after he fell to Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (8/10), 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4 in a marathon clash.

“Maybe for the first time in my life I'll probably need it,” Zverev said when asked about working with a mental coach. “It's funny, I feel very alone out there at times. I struggle mentally. I don't know. It's difficult to find joy outside the tennis court for me at the moment.

“It's not an excuse or anything. I think Arthur deserved to win today. It's something I've felt for the past few months. Again, I just feel generally very, very alone and very lonely. I don't know. Just never felt that way before,” he added.

This was German’s earliest Grand Slam defeat since 2019 — also at the All England Club.

“I've never felt this empty before. Just lacking joy, just lacking joy in everything that I do,” Zverev said. “It's not necessarily about tennis. Just lacking joy outside of tennis, as well.”

Zverev didn't blame the sport for his stretch of inconsistent form. “I don't think tennis is the problem right now for me. It's something else that I have to find within me at the moment. But something within me has to change, which is not necessarily on the tennis court,” he added.