Zverev knocked out early in Monte Carlo by Berrettini

Monte Carlo, Principality of Monaco: Top seed Alexander Zverev crashed out in his opening match of the Monte Carlo Masters on Tuesday after losing 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 to Italy´s Matteo Berrettini.

World number two Zverev has struggled for any kind of form since his defeat by Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final at the end of January, winning just six of 12 matches. Zverev won the first set against former Wimbledon runner-up Berrettini but a break of serve in the sixth game of the second set allowed the Italian to level the match.

Berrettini broke at 3-all in the final set before blowing a chance to close out victory on his own serve, but he broke again for a 6-5 lead after an astonishing 48-shot rally. The 34th-ranked Berrettini made no mistake with his second opportunity though, advancing to a last-16 meeting with Lorenzo Musetti or Jiri Lehecka.