matter is not settled yet
Bad freak out is very expensive for Zverev
02/24/2022, 11:17 p.m
Alexander Zverev gets the first penalty for his freak out at the tennis tournament in Acapulco: It costs the Olympic champion more than $ 70,000 for not being able to control his anger after a double defeat. The matter is not over yet.
Olympic champion Alexander Zverev has to pay a $40,000 fine after his outburst at the tennis tournament in Acapulco. In addition, he has to pay back the prize money of more than $ 30,000 and loses the points for the world rankings, as the ATP announced. There should also be a further investigation. It cannot be ruled out that the German will be banned from further tournaments.
Zverev was disqualified on Tuesday after freaking out after losing in doubles at the tournament in Acapulco. After the 2: 6, 6: 4, 6:10, Germany’s best tennis player and his Brazilian doubles partner Marcelo Melo hit the Brit Lloyd Glasspool and the Finn Harri Heliovaara several times with his racket against the referee’s chair, on which the referee was still sitting.
Zverev had previously been upset about a referee’s decision. The men’s organization ATP reacted and excluded the 24-year-old from the further course of the tournament because of “unsportsmanlike conduct”. The professional later apologized. “It’s hard to put into words how much I regret my behavior during and after yesterday’s doubles,” he wrote in an Instagram story. His outburst was “wrong and unacceptable” and he was “disappointed in himself”.
“Think he deserves the punishment”
“It just shouldn’t have happened and there’s no excuse,” he said, adding: “I also want to apologize to my fans, the tournament, the sport I love.” And: “As you know, I give everything on the pitch. It was clearly too much yesterday.” He wanted to think about how he could avoid such behavior in the future.
Zverev received criticism from prominent colleagues: The world number one Novak Djokovic thinks the disqualification is right. “I think the disqualification decision wasn’t too harsh. I think it was right under the circumstances,” said the 34-year-old Serb on the sidelines of his tournament appearance in Dubai. He hopes that Zverev can think about it and that something like this will never happen to him again. Australian Open winner Rafael Nadal hopes that Zverev’s freak out can serve as a warning negative example. “I think he deserves the penalty because you can’t act like that on the pitch,” Nadal said. “I hope it’s a learning curve for him and for other young players who lose their nerve.”