“It’s hard to put into words how much I regret my behavior during and after yesterday’s doubles match. On Instagram, Alexander Zverev, fired from the Acapulco tournament after freaking out after a doubles match, attempted a mea culpa.
“I apologized to the referee because my outburst towards him was bad and unacceptable, and I am disappointed in myself, continued the German, world No. 3. This shouldn’t have happened and there is no excuse. I also want to apologize to my fans, to the tournament and to this sport that I love so much…”
After losing in the super tie-break with the Brazilian Melo against the pair Glasspool-Heliövaara (6-2, 4-6, 10-6), Zverev was unleashed against the chair umpire whom he blamed in particular for a big mistake of judgment on a ball supposedly in the corridor (the point of 8-6 to 9-6 in the super tie-break). As the multiple “fucks” were not enough, the Olympic champion joined the action to the word by hitting the referee’s chair three times with his racket. At his feet.
“I will take advantage of the next few days to reflect on my actions and how I can ensure that this does not happen again”, assures the winner of the last Masters. He may have a little time ahead of him… Because beyond a fine and the freezing of the gains already acquired during the Mexican event (just over 20,000 dollars, or around 17,650 euros), Zverev , who has broken dozens of racquets in his career, may have to serve a suspension for violating the ATP’s disciplinary code.
Given the extent of the German’s anger, it is difficult to see how the ATP could save an investigation for “aggravated behavior”, likely to lead to a suspension of 21 days to a year. By way of comparison, the Australian Nick Kyrgios, the enfant terrible of the circuit, has already been confronted with this type of situation.
Zverev, an already damaged image
During the 2019 Cincinnati Masters 1000, he shouted at the referee, spat at the officials and left the court without permission to go to the bathroom. Scooping a hefty fine of 111,600 euros then a suspension of 16 weeks (and 22,000 euros extension) suspended and six months to rebuild a virginity.
Kyrgios was not at his first attempt. Three months earlier in Rome, after taking a penalty game for arguing with a spectator, he had thrown his racket to the ground, swung a chair into the open court and self-excluded after shaking hands with his opponent, the Norwegian Casper Ruud, and… the referee.
Benoît Paire, he, despite countless verbal slippages and unsportsmanlike behavior since the start of the Covid era, got away with fines. The Habs, on the other hand, were suspended by the FFT and deprived in particular of the Tokyo Olympics. But neither the Australian nor the French had shown the same outburst of anger as Zverev, whose only slightly mitigating circumstance would be to have finished his first round of singles at… five o’clock in the morning (new ATP record) a few hours before its double.
The seriousness of the gesture spoils in any case a little more the image of the Hamburger, already well damaged, and on which he has been trying to work in recent months. On social networks, the connection was quickly made between the violence of his reaction and the domestic violence of which his former partner Olga Sharypova accuses him. Last October, the ATP opened an internal investigation to shed light on facts that allegedly took place during the 2019 Shanghai Masters.
“I hope to finally clear my name, had launched Zverev at the time. I’ve proven myself innocent in different ways. But with this investigation finally open, hopefully I can be cleared by a third party and we can move on. “Even if the two cases have absolutely nothing to do with each other, the boiling “Sascha” did not help his case…
