The tennis news media has been all about the Zverev meltdown in Acapulco in the last 24 hours. What happened?
The Zverev meltdown is nothing new. Mr Zverev is known to be a little bit of a hothead. And, not to forget, he has an abuse allegation from his former girlfriend Sharypova still pending to be resolved. He is in a situation where a cool head is to be recommended. But his latest meltdown in the Acapulco doubles tournament shows that he is not quite capable of that kind of calm.
In short: Zverev was frustrated about the umpire’s line calls. This is what he said after a call, late in the match tie-break. “Look where the ball bounced … 8-6 in the tiebreak … for f–k’s sake … it’s f–king your line … f–king idiot.”
They lost the tie-break and Zverev tried to attack the umpire’s feet (Alessandro Germani) with several swings after shaking hands with the opposing team. It was quite shocking to see.
Zverev disqualified from Acapulco singles
The ATP and the Acapulco 500 tournament had to act and Zverev was disqualified from playing in the singles tournament (he had won his first match against Jenson Brooksby).
Zverev later issues a statement as an Instagram story saying the following:
“It is difficult to put into words how much I regret my behavior during and after the doubles match yesterday. I have privately apologized 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. I would also like to apologize to my fans, the tournament, and the sport that I love.”
Novak Djokovic, who is no stranger to forfeits and outbursts of anger himself, said the following:
“I made mistakes in the past where I’ve had tantrums on the court. I understand what the player is going through. But, of course, I do not justify his actions,” Djokovic told press after advancing to the quarterfinals.
“He has, with the words that he had in the statement, handled it in a right way. He said he made a mistake and his actions were not appropriate. I think the disqualification decision was not too harsh. I think it was correct under the circumstances.”
What do you think of the situation and the penalty?
