Top seed Zverev bombs out of Monte-Carlo Masters

Top seed Alexander Zverev crashed out of the 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters in Monaco on Tuesday, losing to Matteo Berrettini in his opening match of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

The defeat continues Zverev’s poor run of form since January, with the German now losing six of 12 matches since the Australian Open.

Tennis betting sites had the world No.2 pegged as a -181.82 favorite to win against Berrettini, largely due to Zverev’s strong record on clay.

While the three-time major finalist did win the opening set, his Italian opponent was better over the next two, prevailing 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 in just under two and a half hours.

Afterward, Zverev confessed that he did not know what is behind his slump in form.

“It’s a matter that I’m losing. It’s as simple as that,” he said.

“You win one or two matches like this, there are no more questions, you know, for me in my mind and for all of you guys.

“But I lost three sets in Buenos Aires, I lost three sets in Rio, I lost three sets in Indian Wells, I lost three sets in Miami, I lost three sets here, and I didn’t win a single one. So that’s the matter.

“I have no idea (what’s wrong) right now.

“I have been trying to figure it out for months now. I don’t know anymore.”

Despite his underwhelming results, leading bookmakers still have Zverev on the fourth line of betting at +750 to win the 2025 French Open in May.

Berrettini, meanwhile, stays alive in Monte-Carlo and improves his odds of winning the tournament to +1400 across tennis bookies.

He will take on either Jiri Lehecka or compatriot Lorenzo Musetti in the round of 16.

All other seeds advanced overnight on Tuesday in Monaco except for Holger Rune, who retired midway through set two against Nuno Borges.

Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas did survive a scare, however, dropping the opening set against Australia’s Jordan Thompson before coming from behind to win in three.

No.14 seed Frances Tiafoe and No.12 seed Arthur Fils were also pushed to three sets, while fifth seed Jack Draper cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 win against Marcos Giron.

Draper shortens to the fourth line of Monte-Carlo title betting at Nags.bet, paying +1000 to win his second Masters 1000 event of the year.

Ahead of him in outright odds are Carlos Alcaraz (+160), Novak Djokovic (+500) and Tsitsipas (+550), while Casper Ruud also sits at +1000.

Alcaraz and Djokovic both play their opening matches on Wednesday and are heavy favorites to prevail against Francisco Cerundolo and Alejandro Tabilo respectively.

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