"So hard to listen to" - Fans slam 'ignorant' Cincinnati Open commentary on Alexander Zverev's struggles against Carlos Alcaraz

Alexander Zverev experienced debilitating physical struggles during his semifinal showdown against Carlos Alcaraz at the 2025 Cincinnati Open. The struggles severely hampered the German's performance, leading to a relatively straightforward win for the Spaniard. Several fans subsequently lambasted the commentators for initially not considering Zverev's type 1 diabetes as a factor that could have contributed to his woes.

The German appeared fine during the first set, which Alcaraz clinched 6-4. However, his struggles became evident at the beginning of the second, as he began profusely sweating and even sat down on the court at one point. He eventually took a medical timeout. As these incidents played out, the commentators kept wondering what could be wrong with Zverev, but without factoring in his type 1 diabetes.

A fan on X (formerly Twitter) couldn't understand why the commentators were not considering the medical condition as a plausible reason for Alexander Zverev's struggles.

"It's astonishing, at this stage, that the commentators have no conception that diabetics struggle in the heat a lot more than non-diabetics. The heat makes your blood sugar fluctuate like mad. They're just, like, "he seems to be struggling again ..." 🙄," the fan wrote.

Stephanie Myles

@OpenCourt

It's astonishing, at this stage, that the commentators have no conception that diabetics struggle in the heat a lot more than non-diabetics. The heat makes your blood sugar fluctuate like mad. They're just, like, "he seems to be struggling again ..." 🙄

Other fans soon chimed in, blatantly critical of the commentators.

"They were so hard to listen to. I’m hypoglycemic which isn’t nearly as bad as type 1 diabetes but I gives me some empathy regarding the sugar fluctuations and it ticks me off to hear these absolutely ignorant blowhards. The dude is even worse than the chick," one fan opined.

"I've generally found watching tennis with no commentary is way more enjoyable than with commentary. Such is the level of tennis commentary these days, it's pretty bad," added another.

"It’s maddening having a Type 1 diabetic, these announcers are absolute s**t," weighed in yet another fan.

"Thank you for bringing this to attention. Zverev will never use his diabetes as an explanation for a loss or a poor performance, but it's in the nature of things that he struggles more in some situations than a player without the condition," wrote one.

"These commentators are atrocious. With every sentence they utter I either think "no s**t Sherlock" or "what match are you watching?"," yet another stated.

It's worth noting that the commentators under fire from fans did eventually bring up Alexander Zverev's type 1 diabetes. As far as the match was concerned, Carlos Alcaraz ultimately secured a 6-4, 6-3 win over the German to progress to the men's singles final at the 2025 Cincinnati Open.

Alexander Zverev also encountered physical health issues during Cincinnati Open SF against Ben Shelton

Alexander Zverev attempts to cool down during his semifinal clash against Carlos Alcaraz at the 2025 Cincinnati Open (Source: Getty)

Alexander Zverev dispatched home favorite Ben Shelton 6-2, 6-2 in the 2025 Cincinnati Open quarterfinals. However, during the match, Zverev began experiencing issues with his breathing. To deal with the symptoms, the German subsequently used an inhaler given to him by his father, who also coaches him.

After the win over the American, Alexander Zverev wasn't too sure of what went wrong for him health-wise. The World No. 3 said:

"Right now I’m not feeling too great… I’m not sure what happened. I came out today and probably felt the best I’ve felt in a few months. Was feeling the ball incredibly well from both sides. In the first set I started feeling not so great and it got progressively worse. But I’m in the semi-finals and I’ll do everything I can be be 100 per cent tomorrow."

The former champion in Cincinnati has yet to confirm the exact reason behind his struggles against Alcaraz. Meanwhile, the Spaniard is now set to face World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the final. Sinner is the defending champion in Cincinnati.