February 23, (THEWILL) – After being thrown out of the Mexican Open in Acapulco by the ATP, Alexander Zverev, has admitted that his aggressive outburst at an umpire’s chair was “wrong and unacceptable.”
As THEWILL reported, the disappointing event occurred shortly after Zverev’s doubles loss to Marcelo Melo, when he approached the umpire’s station and smacked it with his racquet.
Zverev approached the umpire again after short returning to his seat and yelled expletives while working on the chair with his racquet.
Between angry swings of his racquet against the umpire’s chair, with one that barely missed the man’s leg, Zverev shouted obscenities: “You f****** destroyed the whole f****** match. The whole f****** match.”
Zverev was promptly kicked out of the tournament by the ATP, while his compatriot, Peter Gojowczyk, was given a walkover in what was supposed to be their singles last-16 match.
Through his official Instagram account, Zverev tendered this apology: “It is difficult to put into words how much I regret my behaviour during and after the doubles match yesterday.
“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. I would also like to apologise to my fans, the tournament, and the sport 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.”
In the final 16 on Wednesday, Zverev and Melo were defeated by Harri Heliovaara and Lloyd Glasspool 2-6 6-4 10-6.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
