Alexander Zverev came perilously close to striking the chair umpire with his racquet after he lost his doubles match at the Mexican Open late on Tuesday.
Germany’s Zverev was withdrawn from the ATP 500 tournament in Acapulco, Mexico, for “unsportsmanlike conduct” after his doubles match, the men’s tour said on Wednesday.
No pretendo discutir con aficionados nuevos al tenis, cada quién tiene en su experiencia su percepción del deporte, pero lo de Alexander Zverev es grotesco e inaceptable, espero que tengan huevos y haya sanción. Si esto lo hace alguien más, lo suspenden.pic.twitter.com/7OkmXUy6wH
— 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒐 𝑹𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊 (@Riverettii) February 23, 2022
Zverev, partnering Brazilian tennis player Marcelo Melo, came perilously close to hitting an umpire when he repeatedly assaulted the umpire’s chair with his racquet after a 6-2 4-6 (10-6) defeat to Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara.
Due to unsportsmanlike conduct at the conclusion of his doubles match on Tuesday night, Alexander Zverev has been withdrawn from the tournament in Acapulco.
The updated Draw can be viewed here:https://t.co/Hqdsgiplgm
— ATP Media Info (@ATPMediaInfo) February 23, 2022
Immediately after the players’ customary post-match handshake, Zverev was seen slamming his racquet against the umpire’s chair multiple times, coming very close to hitting the umpire. He can bee seen shouting relentlessly at the umpire.
Zverev was angered by an umpiring call during the tiebreak. In rage, the German started hurling abuse at the umpire.
Earlier, Daniil Medvedev continued his pursuit of the No. 1 ranking with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Benoit Paire to move into the second round at the Mexican Open.
Fourth-seeded Nadal, opened with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Denis Kudla. Nadal, who has won three titles in Acapulco (2005, 2013 and 2020), next faces Stefan Kozlov on Wednesday. In other matches Tuesday, Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Laslo Djere 7-6(7) 7-6(4), Tommy Paul advanced to a meeting with Dusan Lajovic when fifth-seeded Matteo Berrettini retired from their match in the second set because of an abdominal injury, and Yoshihito Nishioka beat Feliciano Lopez 2-6, 6-0, 6-4.
