MELBOURNE, Australia — Alexander Zverev has long been touted as a future Grand Slam champion. Problem is, he can’t seem to get anywhere near the second week of a major.
The fourth-seeded Zverev made yet another puzzling early exit at a Grand Slam tournament, dropping 12 of the final 15 games in a 5-7, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 loss to his fellow rising star Hyeon Chung in the third round of the Australian Open on Saturday.
Zverev, 20, won five ATP tournaments last year, second only to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, but has reached the fourth round of a major just once — at last year’s Wimbledon — and has never gone beyond.