Alexander Zverev 'likes' electronic line calling, surprised Roland Garros is sticking to tradition

After what played out at the Mutua Madrid Open, it was natural for a reporter in Rome to ask Alexander Zverev if he was happy to see the upcoming French Open stick with traditional lines-people over electronic line calling (ELC).

“They still going to have that? Well, it screwed me last year,” he said with a smile Tuesday.

Zverev is back at the Foro Italico to defend his Internazionali BNL d'Italia crown. During his latest ATP Masters 1000 appearance in the Spanish capital, the world No. 2 incurred a code violation during a third-round win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina after pulling out his cell phone to snap a photo of a ball mark that he felt contradicted what ELC captured.

Despite that incident, Zverev clarified it’s still his preferred methodology for detemining whether shots are in or out.

“To be honest, I like the electronic line calling. I think there was absolutely no mistakes in Monte Carlo, there were no mistakes in Munich. I think there was something wrong with the system in Madrid,” said Zverev, who ultimately bowed out to Francisco Cerundolo in the round of 16 at the Caja Magica.

“I think the weeks before it worked perfectly fine. It was mistake-free kind of. I still think that it's the right way to go forward, too. When mistakes happen like this in Madrid, maybe they have to readjust it for the next day, readjust the system a little bit.”

To be honest, I like the electronic line calling. I think there was absolutely no mistakes in Monte Carlo, there were no mistakes in Munich. Alexander Zverev

As for how to account for an erroneous miscue made by technology, Zverev conceded he didn’t have the perfect solve to offer up.

“It's not for me to decide. But when it's clear like that, then maybe the umpire should be able to come down from the chair. If we're talking about millimeters, then no. If we're talking about three, four, five centimeters, then maybe.”

The 28-year-old is seeded No. 2 this week, though has unfavorable odds to carry that through to Roland Garros. With 2024 Rome results wiped, Carlos Alcaraz begins the tournament with a 755-point advantage to be the world No. 2 going into the Paris major.

“I do think the media also loves to put players down, right? I had a bad two months before Munich, right? I didn't play great tennis before Munich,” Zverev commented. “All of a sudden I'm like the worst world No. 2 in the world ever. I don't deserve to be there. Like I'm there because I won tournaments. I'm there because I have results.”

Zverev finished runner-up to Alcaraz in his second Grand Slam final last June, the match he alluded to being “screwed” in earlier.