We call that “going crazy”! Germany’s Alexander Zverev (world number 3 in singles) repeatedly hit the referee’s chair with his racket following a doubles loss at the ATP tournament in Acapulco. He came out of his hinges at the end of his match lost in the super tie-break with the Brazilian Marcelo Melo once morest the Briton Lloyd Glasspool and the Finn Harri Heliövaara 6-2, 4-6, 10-6.
During the match, the German did not hide his annoyance, regularly challenging the referee’s decisions. On video images, we see him at one point hitting the referee’s chair three times, sitting down and then getting up to insult the official and give a final stroke of the racket.
This gesture and these remarks are liable to heavy fines and sanctions according to the ATP disciplinary code. “If the First Vice-President, Rules and Competitions, determines that this was an infraction particularly detrimental to the proper conduct of the tournament or detrimental to the integrity of the sport, he may consider additional sanctions (fines or suspensions)”, specifies the ATP in this disciplinary code.
Alexander Zverev was due to play his second singles round this Wednesday once morest his compatriot Peter Gojowczyk (doubly lucky lucky loser) but in the morning in France, the ATP inevitably confirmed his exclusion: “Due to his unsportsmanlike behavior at the end of his doubles match Tuesday evening, Alexander Zverev was excluded from the Acapulco tournament, ”announces the body managing the men’s professional circuit on its Twitter account ATP Media Info.
Zverev apologizes and says he wants to think things over
The German player has since posted an apology via his Instagram account. “It’s hard to put into words how much I regret my behavior during and following yesterday’s doubles match. I apologized to the referee because my outburst towards him was bad and unacceptable, and I’m disappointed in myself. This shouldn’t have happened and there is no excuse. I also want to apologize to my fans, the tournament and this sport that I love so much, ”he explained in particular.
It turns out that these excuses will not be enough to erase such a gesture. He knows it full well. “I will use the next few days to reflect on my actions and how I can ensure that this does not happen once more,” he concluded.
