Why 'upset' Zverev was 'unhappy' at baffling AWOL equipment in final

Alexander Zverev started his first Australian Open final in fine fashion, holding his opening handful of service games and staying in touch with Jannik Sinner throughout the opening set.

But at the changeover at the end of the seventh game, with the set delicately poised on serve, the German finally let a little frustration bubble over.

He entered into a discussion with the chair umpire, Damien Dumusois, about the whereabouts of some of his racquets, which had seemingly gone missing in the process of being strung.

He could be heard uttering a string of numbers as he stood and faced the umpire, before walking back to the baseline.

“Conversation during the break between Zverev and the umpire, Damien Dumusois. He’s a little bit upset that the racquets he sent to the stringers, he said an hour before the match, he’s still waiting for,” explained Eurosport’s Nick Mullins on commentary.

“So, he’s some racquets down. And you’ll have heard him say 15.9 and 16.9, those are the tensions and he’ll want those racquets as soon as possible… Clearly unhappy with the racquets he has in his bag.”

Tennis players often send racquets to the stringers during a match to have the tension changed depending on the conditions, but it is rare for said racquets to have been sent so far in advance of a match and remain AWOL.

“Well, it’s interesting to hear the 15.9 and 16.9, if that’s the string tension in kilos, as in pounds, that’s 33 pounds,” added an incredulous Tim Henman on commentary.

“I mean, that’s incredibly loose, so I’m slightly confused by that. However, he may be sending some racquets back to be restrung because it’s a little bit cooler, therefore the ball isn’t flying, so you want the strings a bit looser to generate more power.

“Not sure he needs more power right now, he needs a bit more control on that forehand.”

Henman was not wrong about the control, with the moment seemingly flustering Zverev somewhat.

The German was broken in the very next game – leaving Sinner to serve for the opening set, which he took 6-3 to get off to the ideal start as he attempts to defend his Australian Open singles title.