Alexander Zverev suffered a shocking freak-out in Acapulca. The German apologised, but the punishment for him should have been harsher. At least that’s what Rafael Nadal says.
Record Major winner Rafael Nadal doesn’t think the punishment for Alexander Zverev after his freak-out at the Acapulco tennis tournament is harsh enough. “On one hand, I don’t want any punishment for Sascha because I like him and I have a good relationship with him,” the Spanish star player said on the sidelines of the tennis tournament in Indian Wells on Thursday.
“On the other hand, as a fan of the sport, I would like to see a harsher punishment for this kind of behaviour, not only from him but basically because it protects the sport and the umpires and everybody involved in this sport. “
Eight week suspended ban
At the Acapulco tournament a fortnight ago, the 24-year-old Zverev had hit the umpire’s chair, where the umpire was still sitting, several times with his racket after losing a doubles match, and insulted the man.
The men’s professional organisation ATP had therefore punished Zverev with an eight-week suspended ban. Furthermore, the number three in the world rankings was imposed an additional fine of 25,000 dollars – also suspended. This means that Zverev cannot afford another offence leading to a fine for unsportsmanlike conduct until 22 February 2023 – one year after the incident.
In Mexico, he was disqualified and had to pay a $40,000 fine. In addition, the Hamburg player has to pay back the prize money of more than 30,000 dollars and lost the points for the world ranking. “That was probably the biggest mistake of my tennis career,” Zverev had said on Wednesday, after which he had already apologised via social media message earlier.
“It was certainly the worst moment of my life and my career.” Apologising was “probably not enough though, the way I behaved. 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. “
