World number two Alexander Zverev suffered a shocking early exit at Indian Wells, falling to Tallon Griekspoor in his opening match.
The defeat, 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4), continues a worrying slump for Zverev, who admitted his form is far from where it needs to be.
“Now it’s less, because I’m just playing terrible,” Zverev said when asked about his chances of overtaking Jannik Sinner as world number one. “I have to find my game before thinking about that because to become world number one, you have to win tournaments.”
Zverev, the tournament’s top seed in Sinner’s absence, has now suffered early exits in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, and Acapulco.
His struggles were on full display as he failed to close out the match against Griekspoor despite serving for it in the second set and saving five match points in the third.
The German star acknowledged that he has no clear explanation for his dip in form, citing illness during his South American tour but ultimately blaming poor execution.
“I’m not playing anywhere near what I played in Australia,” he admitted. “It’s everything—my serve, my baseline game. I keep working, but right now it’s not clicking.”
Zverev is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017.
With his ranking ambitions fading, he now faces an urgent need to rediscover his game before the clay-court season begins.
