Battering inanimate objects. How brave!
Alexander Zverev has a short temper, and even the man himself would not deny it.
The world number three has often clashed with line judges and umpires in his career, but he bounded well past the line of decency with his latest outburst at the Mexican Open.
Zverev and Marcelo Melo were playing against Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliövaara in the first round of the competition’s doubles tournament, on Tuesday night. They were taken to a final set tie-break and it was a tense one.
Zverev and Melo were trailing 8-6 in the tie-break when a close call went against them. The 24-year-old began shouting in the direction of the umpire:
“Look where the ball bounced! 8-6 in the tiebreak… for f***s sake… it’s f***ing your line… f***ing idiot!”
Zverev received a code violation for that tirade, but worse was to follow. An ace wrapped up the tie-break 10-6 to Glasspool and Heliövaara. As all four men walked off the court, Zverev unloaded three brutal swats at the umpire’s chair, causing him to flinch.
https://twitter.com/ESPNDeportes/status/1496374037798342656
Alexander Zverev dumped out of Mexican Open for ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’
The attack on the umpire’s chair led to boos and whistles from many in the crowd as Zverev declared:
“You destroyed the whole f***ing match. The whole f***ing match!”
There was one more swipe at the umpire’s chair as Zverev mangled his racquet. He then handed ‘Exhibit A’ over to a fan in the front row before stalking off.
Needless to say, that aggression did not stand. The German, who won his first round singles match on Monday and was defending his title there, has been kicked out of the Mexican Open. An ATP statement reads:
‘Due to unsportsmanlike conduct at the conclusion of his doubles match on Tuesday night, Alexander Zverev has been withdrawn from the tournament in Acapulco.’
Zverev will be facing a lengthy ban for his abuse of the umpire and the attack on the chair he was sitting in. Back in 2019, Nick Kyrgios received a 16-week tour ban for verbal abuse of an umpire.
