Alexander Zverev says ‘lines were crossed’ by some fans attending his country’s Davis Cup tie against Brazil in Rio de Janeiro over the weekend.
The world No.3 said members of his family received verbal abuse from some of those attending the tie during his matches. Zverev also accused the same people of ‘being rude all the time’ whilst he was serving. Although he didn’t elaborate on exactly what was said. Zverev played in two singles matches which he won in straight sets against Thiago Monteiro and Thiago Seyboth Wild.
“It gets towards, you know, your family members or when it gets towards somebody that you love, this is where I draw the line for respect. That line was crossed, basically, you know, every single game we play.” Zverev said following his second match of the tie on Saturday.
“Someone can say what they want to me, they can like it or hate me, I understand that now they don’t like me very much. In my match and in the doubles match, they (the crowd) were rude all the time of the (my) serve. People who came to watch tennis, cheer for Brazil, and be respectful. They have my greatest respect. I enjoyed playing in an atmosphere that was high, energetic, but some crossed the line.”
This weekend was the first competitive matches Zverev had played since getting kicked out of the Mexican Open for unsportsmanlike conduct. During a first round doubles match at the tournament he repeatedly swore at the umpire and then hit his chair multiple times with his racket. At one stage he narrowly missed hitting the foot of the umpire. He was later fined a total of $40,000 and lost all of his prize money earned from the tournament. Although former world No.1 Mats Wilander believes more action should have been taken against the player.
As a result of the outburst, the ATP has launched an investigation as part of its protocol. Making it the second investigation they have launched against the former US Open finalist. The first is an ongoing look into allegations he physically abused his former girlfriend Olga Sharypova during the 2019 Shanghai Masters. Journalist Jose Morgado reports that Olga’s name was shouted a couple times by members of the crowd during this week’s Davis Cup tie.
It is unknown as to when either of these investigations will be completed by.
Despite the controversy, Germany cruised to an overall 3-1 win over Brazil to seal their place in the finals later this year. The team will be hoping to go one step further than they did in 2021 when they managed to reach the semi-final stage for the first time in 14 years.
