“Embarrassing” – Zverev settles accounts with himself
Zverev freaks out and hits the referee’s chair
Alexander Zverev has also been disqualified for the singles competition after an unacceptable outburst of anger following his defeat in doubles at the ATP tournament in Acapulco. The Olympic champion had previously been upset about a decision by the referee.
Foaming with anger, Alexander Zverev hit the referee’s chair several times in Acapulco with his bat. Now the tennis Olympic champion speaks in detail about the incident for the first time. He leaves no good hair on himself.
Tennis Olympic champion Alexander Zverev deeply regrets his freak out in Acapulco and the racket attack on the referee’s chair two weeks ago. “It was definitely the worst moment of my life and my career,” said the 24-year-old from Hamburg at a press conference before the ATP tournament in Indian Wells (local time).
“But apologizing is probably not enough, the way I behaved,” said the German, describing his emotional world: “It was embarrassing for me, it’s still embarrassing when I’m walking around or in the locker room. It’s not a nice feeling.”
The day before, ATP had punished Zverev with an eight-week suspended ban. In addition, the number three in the world rankings was fined an additional $ 25,000 – also on probation – as announced by the ATP. In addition, Zverev is not allowed to commit another violation that leads to a fine for unsportsmanlike conduct until February 22, 2023 – one year after the incident.
“The biggest mistake of my tennis career”
At the tournament in Acapulco, the 24-year-old had hit the referee’s chair with his racket several times after losing in doubles, on which the referee was still sitting. He was disqualified and fined $40,000. In addition, the Hamburger has to pay back the prize money of more than 30,000 dollars and loses the points for the world rankings.
“That was probably the biggest mistake of my tennis career,” said Zverev. “At the end of the day I hope people can forgive me and understand that there is a lot of mental pressure and things happen that people don’t see and that we are all human. It’s not easy for me. But I deserve that it’s not easy for me right now.”