Germany‘s Alexander Zverev he was expelled from the Mexican Open in Acapulco for “unsportsmanlike conduct” after attacking a judge after losing doubles.
Zverev, who partnered with Brazilian tennis player Marcelo Melo, came dangerously close to hitting the referee when he repeatedly attacked the official’s chair with his rocket after losing 6-2, 4-6, 10-6 to Lloyd Glasspool and Harry Heliovaara.
This is just the latest dispute that has engulfed Zverev – he remains under investigation by the ATP after allegations of domestic violence by his ex-girlfriend Olga Sharipova.
After the four players shook hands on the net at the end of their match in Acapulco, Zverev returned to his chair, only to make three dangerous blows an inch from the legs and feet of the referee in the chair.
Zverev, who has now been kicked out of the singles tournament in Mexico, was outraged by a line call in the deciding set tiebreak in a doubles match.
The German was furious, knelt down and said: “Look where the ball bounced, 8-6 in the tiebreak, for God’s sake. This is the hell of your line.
“You’re a great idiot.”
When the match was over, the Olympic champion hit the chair three times while the crowd gasped in disbelief before continuing to shout, “You destroyed the whole fucking match! The whole fucking game.
Alexander Zverev expelled from the Mexican Open after attacking the referee’s chair
The German was furious after losing doubles, in which he hit the judge’s chair four times
Part 2: Glasspool / Heliovaara scored an ace and won the match and the video shared on this topic happened.
This is the chronology of what I could understand, it started towards the end of the super tie-break. pic.twitter.com/JRaVPWYWZz
– stateofsport21 (@ stateofsport211) February 23, 2022
Zverev, enraged by the refereeing at the time, fired his rocket again at the side of the referee’s chair, before the official, who seemed deeply embarrassed by the explosion, hurriedly left the court.
In a statement after the horrific outburst, ATP confirmed that Zverev had been removed from the tournament and his German Peter Goyovchik, who was to face the next single, won.
In a statement later posted on his Instagram page, Zverev revealed that he had apologized in private to the judge for his outburst.
He wrote: It is difficult to describe in words how much I regret my behavior during and after the doubles match yesterday.
In a statement posted on his Instagram story, Zverev apologized for his “unacceptable” outburst.
“I personally apologized to the judge in the chair, because my outburst against him was wrong and unacceptable, and I’m just disappointed in myself.
“It simply did not have to happen and there is no excuse. I would also like to apologize to my fans, the tournament and the sport I love.
“As you know, I leave everything on the court. I left too much yesterday. I will take the next few days to consider my actions and how I can guarantee that this will not happen again. I’m sorry to disappoint you.
Zverev will no doubt face a serious fine for his behavior and risks being removed after an ATP check.
“Unsportsmanlike conduct” is defined by the ATP Tour as “any misconduct of a player that is manifestly abusive or detrimental to the success of a tournament, ATP and / or sport.”
Zverev remains under investigation by the ATP following allegations of domestic violence by Ms. Sharipova, which include allegations of violent physical violence. Zverev has repeatedly denied all allegations.
Zverev was furious at calling a line in the decisive set of tie-breaks, which was not given, which led him to call the chair judge “damn idiot”, to the great horror of the audience in Acapulco
The German was expelled from the tournament in Acapulco for “unsportsmanlike conduct”
The ATP announced last year that it was investigating high-level allegations of domestic violence against Olympic champion Zverev.
Last October, the former teenager Sharipova publicly accused the world №3 of a series of serious attacks, which he categorically denied.
Interview with Sharipova, published in American online magazine Slate in August contains new allegations, including that Zverev hit Sharipova in their hotel room during the Shanghai Masters in October 2019 and that she desperately injected herself with insulin for the second time.
Sharipova spoke in an interview with the American magazine Racquet last November.
“We had another fight and in this match he hit me in the face for the first time,” Sharipova said of their trip to Switzerland. “In other battles he pushed me, pushed me, twisted my arms, strangled me. But that was the first time he hit me, he really hit me.
In a statement, Zverev denied the charges against him.
“We have known each other since we were children and we share many experiences together,” he said. “I am very sorry that she is making such statements because the allegations are simply not true.”
This is just the latest dispute that has engulfed Zverev – he remains under investigation by the ATP after allegations of domestic violence by his ex-girlfriend Olga Sharipova. They are pictured together here in 2019
Already in 2019the bad boy in tennis Nick Kyrgios received a suspended 16-week tour ban and a record fine of approximately £ 90,000 after committing eight offenses during a match with Karen Khachanov at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, including verbal abuse of referee Fergus Murphy and spitting at the official.
As a result, he was sentenced to a six-month probationary period.
Just a day before this unpleasant episode, Zverev made history in Acapulco, setting a new record for the last finish of a tennis match.
Defeating the previous final of 4:34 in the morning, set by Leighton Hewitt, when he defeated Marcos Baghdatis at the 2008 Australian Open, Zverev and rival Jenson Brooksby finished their match only at 4:55 in the morning.