“Very lonely” Alexander Zverev is searching for answers — “I've never felt this empty before”

Alexander Zverev will hope to “solve myself” during the North American hard-court swing after suffering his earliest Grand Slam exit in six years on Tuesday.

In an upset-filled first round that saw four Top 10 stars in both Wimbledon singles draws tumble out, the world No. 3 dropped a five-setter carried over from Monday to Arthur Rinderknech on Centre Court.

Speaking with press following the defeat, Zverev shared a sense of loneliness has proven insurmountable to brush aside since losing January’s Australian Open final to Jannik Sinner.

“I'm trying to find ways, trying to find ways to kind of get out of this hole. I keep kind of finding myself back in it in a way,” he said. “I feel, generally speaking, quite alone in life at the moment, which is a feeling that is not very nice.”

I've never felt this empty before. Just lacking joy, just lacking joy in everything that I do.

Asked in a follow-up if making tweaks to his team was on the table, Zverev responded “possibly.” But at the end of the day, the change that’s needed starts within him.

“It's not a feeling on a tennis court, it's just a life feeling in general. As I said, I never felt this way before. I don't know. It's difficult to find joy outside the tennis court for me at the moment,” the 28-year-old stated.

“It's not an excuse or anything. I think Arthur deserved to win today. It's something I've felt for the past few months. Again, I just feel generally very, very alone and very lonely. I don't know. Just never felt that way before.

“I don't have the answers right now.”

Zverev is now 35-14 on the season, with one title to his name in Munich. He came into The Championships at No. 3 in the race to the Nitto ATP Finals, adding a quarterfinal showing at Roland Garros.

If Zverev is to rejoin the conversation among the top contenders by the US Open, for him it comes down to waking up with the right mindset again.

“I have to solve myself first. I have to solve my issues,” he expressed.

“I've been through a lot of difficulties in the media. I've been through a lot of difficulties in life generally. I've never felt this empty before. Just lacking joy, just lacking joy in everything that I do. It's not necessarily about tennis. Just lacking joy outside of tennis, as well.”