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Alexander Zverev has been withdrawn from the Mexican Open for “unsportsmanlike conduct” after hitting the referee’s chair multiple times with his racket after a doubles defeat.
After losing match point to Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara alongside playing partner Marcelo Melo, Zverev walked over to the referee’s seat and hit it three times.
“You destroyed the whole damn match. You destroyed the whole damn game,” you hear Zverev yell at the umpire, before going back to his seat to hit it one more time.
You’ll see Glasspool and Heliovaara flinch and stop as they stand just behind Zverev.
The world number three was also heard calling the referee a “f***ing idiot” during the match after he was frustrated by a line call during the decisive super tiebreak.
“Due to unsportsmanlike conduct at the end of his doubles match on Tuesday evening, Alexander Zverev has been withdrawn from the tournament in Acapulco,” said an ATP statement.
The ATP rules define unsportsmanlike conduct as “any misconduct by a player that is manifestly offensive or harmful to the success of a tournament, ATP and/or the sport” and is subject to a fine of up to $20,000.
However, incidents that are “blatant and particularly detrimental to the success of a tournament” can be referred to the ATP EVP Rules & Competition, which would investigate.
Zverev’s removal from the tournament also includes the singles draw, in which he set the record for the last finish in ATP Tour history the day before.
Germany’s 3-6 7-6 6-2 victory over American Jenson Brooksby ended at 4:55 a.m. local time on Tuesday, beating the previous record of 4:34 a.m. set by Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis at the 2008 Australian Open.
Fellow German Peter Gojowczyk, against whom Zverev would play in the next round, has been given a walk-over to the quarter-finals.
