Alexander Zverev might not yet be capable of winning a Grand Slam, but when he is playing his best, as he was in the second round of 2026 Indian Wells against Matteo Berrettini, he is almost unbeatable for any player on the ATP tour not named Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, or Carlos Alcaraz.
Berrettini didn't play necessarily poorly; he was simply overpowered by the German. That speaks volumes about Zverev's level as the Italian has a bombastic forehand and serve. Zverev took advantage of Berrettini's weaker backhand, though, and kept coming to the net when he forced the Italian to hit from that wing.
The German, and No. 4 seed in the Masters 1000, needs to play more aggressively late in majors as he did against the skilled Berrettini. Too often, Zverev allows players such as Alcaraz to dictate the pace of play, and Zverev simply reacts. He isn't as good at that as someone such as Sinner is.
Alexander Zverev defeats Matteo Berrettini in the second round of Indian Wells
The ATP No. 4 simply gave Berrettini, who has ranked as high as No. 6 on tour, but has also suffered far too many injuries to consistently contend for titles, no room to breathe. Anything the Italian attempted to do differently against the German failed.
Zverev took the first set 6-3 and was never in any real danger of dropping the set. He won 94 percent of his first serves while dropping 77 percent of them in. He didn't face a break point, while Berrettini kept having stressful service games. He never quite seemed ready to compete with Zverev.
The Italian did up his form in the second set, even landing more than 80 percent of his first serves, and he still could not manage to make the match tight. Zverev got an early break and simply needed to keep holding to move on to round three, which he did relatively easily, 6-4.
The best Alexander Zverev has done at Indian Wells is making the quarterfinals twice. In the form he displayed in the second round, he appears destined to exceed his previous best at the tournament. He will next face the winner of the Brandon Nakashima versus Camila Ugo Carabelli match.