Alexander Zverev gave a scathing review of his performance at the Monte-Carlo Masters after crashing out in his opening match. The top seed suffered a 2-6 6-3 7-5 defeat to Matteo Berrettini on Tuesday, in a dramatic contest that lasted two-and-a-half hours. It’s another disappointing defeat for Zverev, who is now 6-6 in matches since reaching the Australian Open final in January.

After suffering another early exit, the world No. 2 claimed he played “terribly” and dramatically dropped his level from mid-way through the second set. But Berrettini had his say after pulling off the upset, admitting he got a different read of Zverev’s game.

Zverev hasn’t pulled any punches when discussing his own form in recent months. The German has failed to go beyond the quarter-final of any tournament since February and his latest blow came in Monaco, where he lost his opening match from a set up.

And the 23-time title winner gave another brutal verdict after the match. “I think it's fairly obvious how satisfied I am, no? I mean, I won not many matches. So it's been the worst period since my injury last few months,” Zverev stated.

“I played a great first set, and once I got broken in the second set I play ten levels down. My ball is much slower. I stop hitting the ball.

“The same story the last few months. Nothing changes. So it's me who lost the match, once again.”

When he was told that his game in the third set wasn’t that bad, Zverev strongly disagreed. “Sorry, that was a question? I thought it was a statement. If you say so. I think it was bad. I thought my level was terrible, but that's just my opinion,” he replied.

“It's a matter that I'm losing. It's as simple as that. You win one or two matches like this, there is no more questions, you know, for me in my mind and for all of you guys.

“But I lost three sets in Buenos Aires, I lost three sets in Rio, I lost three sets in Indian Wells, I lost three sets in Miami, I lost three sets here, and I didn't win a single one. So that's the matter.

“I have no idea [why I keep losing] right now. I have been trying to figure it out for months now. I don't know anymore.”

However, Berrettini had a different analysis of Zverev’s game. The top seed raced through the opening set, leaving his opponent surprised.

The former Wimbledon finalist said: “I wasn't feeling my best in the first set especially, and I have to say that Sascha was playing a really high-level tennis.

“Yeah, so in order to change and switch the momentum around, I really had to push hard, especially mentally, you know, to tell myself to believe in my strokes and to believe in my tennis and just to enjoy the fight.”

When he heard Zverev’s “terrible” review, the world No. 34 added: “I mean, it's never easy to be sharp after a match, a tough loss, but I have to say that in the first set he was playing really high-level tennis and really aggressive.

“Then I think when he saw me being more aggressive and trying to believe in my strokes a little bit more, he started to lose a little bit of court. That's what I felt like, okay, now, the momentum switched, right?

“Since that moment you could actually tell it was the other way around. That's why at the beginning I was a little bit surprised by him. Like, normally he would be a little bit more passive and then try to get in the court. He started really aggressive from the beginning.

“So I don't think the level was bad. I just think he changed a little bit the way how he was playing. But also I think for the things that I also have done, that obviously it's a mental game.”