Alexander Zverev has been ejected from the Mexican Open in Acapulco for unsportsmanlike conduct after attacking an umpire’s chair and intimidating him following his defeat in the first round of doubles.
Zverev took issue with a line call in the penultimate point of his 6-2, 4-6, 10-6 defeat by Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliövaara on Tuesday night and he initially received a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct after screaming insults at the umpire. “It’s 8-6 in the tie-break, for fuck’s sake, look where the ball bounced,” he said. “You fucking idiot.”
After the match the German rounded on the umpire, Alessandro Germani, smashing his chair three times and nearly striking the official’s foot while shouting at him. Zverev then sat down in his seat before standing up again and striking the chair once more while shouting. Marcelo Melo, Zverev’s partner and best friend, said nothing throughout.
Two hours after the match the ATP announced Zverev had been defaulted from his singles match and withdrawn from the tournament. “Due to unsportsmanlike conduct at the conclusion of his doubles match Alexander Zverev has been withdrawn from the tournament in Acapulco,” a tournament statement said.
On Wednesday morning Zverev released a statement on the incident: “It is difficult to put into words how much I regret my behavior [sic] during and after the doubles match yesterday,” he said. “I have privately apologised to the chair umpire because my outburst towards him was wrong and unacceptable, and I am only disappointed in myself. It just should not have happened and there is no excuse.”
Zverev was the second seed in the singles draw and the defending champion in the tournament. He had reached the second round after the latest match in history, finishing his three-set win against Jenson Brooksby at 4.55am on Tuesday morning. Zverev’s second-round opponent, Peter Gojowczyk, has been given a walkover into the quarter-finals.
According to the ATP rulebook, Zverev will lose all of his prize money, hotel accommodation and points as a consequence of his default and the ATP will decide whether to impose further penalties – a fine and/or suspension – if the default is deemed “particularly injurious to the success of the tournament or detrimental to the integrity of the sport”.
In his statement Zverev said: “I would also like to apologise to my fans, the tournament, and the sport that I love. As you know, I leave everything on the court. Yesterday, I left too much. I am going to take the coming days to reflect – on my actions and how I can ensure that it will not happen again. I am sorry for letting you down.”
Zverev remains under investigation by the ATP after his ex-girlfriend, Olya Sharypova, accused him of numerous instances of domestic violence during their relationship. Zverev denies all of the accusations.
After failing to sufficiently address the situation for a year after Sharypova first spoke publicly about Zverev, the ATP announced an “internal investigation” in October following the conclusion of an independent safeguarding report. An ATP spokesperson told the Guardian: “The investigation is ongoing. We have contracted a third party with expertise in this area to assist in our investigative process. Further information will be provided once the investigation is complete.”
