Acapulco – With a tantrum, Alexander Zverev not only destroyed his chances of defending his title at the tennis tournament in Acapulco, but also badly tarnished his image, which had just improved somewhat after his victory at the Olympics.
Zverev hit the umpire’s chair several times with his tennis racket after an actually insignificant defeat in the doubles, on which the umpire was even still sitting. At one point, the 24-year-old almost hit the foot of the referee, whom he had already loudly insulted several times shortly before after a controversial decision.
The men’s organisation ATP reacted immediately and excluded Zverev from the rest of the tournament for “unsportsmanlike conduct”. Peter Gojowczyk from Munich therefore entered the quarter-finals without a fight. Only a few hours after Zverev had played himself into the history books of tennis with his spectacular first-round victory at 4:55 a.m., Zverev thus ensured an inglorious chapter.
The following morning, Zverev apologised via Instagram for his freak-out. “It’s hard to put into words how much I regret my behaviour during and after yesterday’s doubles,” he wrote. “I have apologised privately to the chair umpire because my outburst towards him was wrong and unacceptable, and I am only disappointed in myself. It just shouldn’t have happened and there is no excuse.”
He said he now wants to learn the lessons from the incident. “I will use the coming days to reflect on my actions and how I can ensure that something like this does not happen again,” Zverev wrote.
It would probably have been wiser to forego a start in the doubles with his buddy Marcelo Melo from Brazil, given the strain – never before had a match on the ATP Tour ended later. But Zverev played and lost with Melo first against the Briton Lloyd Glasspool and the Finn Harri Heliovaara in a match tiebreak 2:6, 6:4, 6:10 – and then completely lost his temper. The fact that he gave his demolished racket to a fan after the freak-out probably only earned Zverev a few sympathy points with this supporter.
Otherwise, the image of the German Sportsman of the Year has been clearly tarnished. Internationally, Zverev is viewed critically anyway, since the ATP is still investigating him because of still unproven allegations of violence by his ex-girlfriend Olga Sharypova. In his home country, however, the image of the Hamburg-born player has recently changed. The way Zverev won gold at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, always credibly assuring how much this medal meant to him for Germany, had significantly increased his popularity ratings.
The current freak-out at the tournament in Acapulco is now part of his sporting false start in 2022. Zverev had started the season with great ambitions and the goal of finally winning a Grand Slam tournament. But at the Australian Open, after a puzzling performance against the Canadian Denis Shapovalov, he was already eliminated in the round of 16. His failure to defend his title in Acapulco is a further setback, especially since he was only convincing in his first-round win over the American Jenson Brooksby.
It is still unclear what will happen next for him. His next scheduled start is at the Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells. It is still unclear whether Zverev will face further consequences besides the disqualification in Acapulco. The ATP did not comment further on Wednesday. A fine or a suspension would be possible.
