German Olympic tennis champion Alexander Zverev said there was “no excuse” for hitting his racket multiple times on the referee’s seat and his foul tirade at the official was “unacceptable” for being thrown by the ATP from the Acapulco Open. . Third in the world, Zverev posted an apology on his Instagram account a few hours after his eviction. “It’s hard to put into words how much I regret my behavior during and after yesterday’s doubles,” he wrote.
“I personally apologized to the chair umpire because my outburst to him was wrong and unacceptable.”
Zverev lost his composure after he and his doubles partner Marcelo Melo of Brazil fell 6-2, 4-6, 10-6 from Briton Lloyd Glasspool and Finn Harri Heliovaara.
The 24-year-old defending singles champion smashed his racket three times just under the feet of referee Alessandro Germani before sitting down, then got up again to yell at the referee and smash the chair one more time.
He was apparently annoyed by a line call during the match.
Zverev had been involved in a first-round singles marathon with American Jenson Brooksby, which finished Tuesday morning at 4:54 a.m. local time (1054 GMT), the most recent finish ever of a professional tennis match.
Zverev’s mood may have been affected by fatigue after another long doubles match ended in defeat, but he nevertheless risks further punishment from the ATP.
“If the Senior Vice President Rules & Competition determines that the omission was particularly detrimental to the success of the tournament or detrimental to the integrity of the sport, he may consider additional penalties,” the ATP rules read.
– ‘Dangerous, reckless’ –
Zverev said he would think about his behavior.
“As you know I leave everything to the courts,” he wrote.
“Yesterday I left out too much. I’m going to take the time in the next few days to think about my actions and how I can make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
His behavior quickly became a talking point in the tennis world.
After Jannik Sinner’s loss at the Dubai Open on Wednesday, former world number one Andy Murray, who was charged with a code violation during the match for racket abuse, was questioned about Zverev.
“It wasn’t right. It was dangerous, reckless,” replied the Scot.
“Of course I understand that many players, athletes in many sports, can become very frustrated. Certainly, myself, I have not always acted the way I would like on the tennis court. I certainly do not claim to be an Angel.”
“But if you rip your tennis racket multiple times next to the referee, yeah, you can’t do that.”
Zverev is no stranger to controversy – he is still under investigation by the ATP over allegations that he was violent towards an ex-girlfriend.
He denies the charge.
In June 2020, he was criticized for partying in a bar when he promised to self-isolate for two weeks after participating in a tournament hosted by Novak Djokovic for spectators, against medical advice over the Covid-19 pandemic.
Several players, including Djokovic, contracted Covid-19.
Zverev’s eviction is a relatively rare event.
– ‘I always have to watch the ball’ –
The famously temperamental John McEnroe was disqualified from the 1990 Australian Open for insulting the umpire, as was Argentina’s David Nalbandian in the 2012 Queen’s final for kicking out and inadvertently making contact with a linesman.
Djokovic was disqualified from the 2020 US Open for accidentally punching a linesman.
Australian maverick Nick Kyrgios was kicked out of the Rome tournament in 2019 for throwing a chair and Canada’s Denis Shapovalov in the 2017 Davis Cup game against Great Britain after accidentally hitting the referee in the face with a ball beaten.
Zverev’s tantrum wasn’t the only notable incident on Tuesday in a tournament that has attracted world number two Daniil Medvedev and Rafael Nada.
promoted
Australian John Millman retired from his game after letting the ball go into his eye as he prepared to serve.
The 32-year-old made it light-hearted in an Instagram post with a patch over the eye and the tag “Always be able to watch the ball.”
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