Alexander Zverev - The catastrophic blackout and the consequences
Alexander Zverev was disqualified in Acapulco after freaking out after the doubles match alongside Marcelo Melo. The picture that the German number one gave on Tuesday is devastating.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Feb 23, 2022, 01:26 pm
When Alexander Zverev victoriously completed his singles match against the American Jenson Brooksby in Acapulco at exactly 4:54 a.m. on Tuesday morning, he still owned the pleasant and benevolent headlines - for the latest ended match in the records of the ATP tour, for a new world record. 21 hours later, at 1:50 a.m. on Wednesday, a crash was sealed that could hardly have been more shameful and devastating for the German front man. It was the moment when Zverev was disgraced from the top competition in the Mexican holiday oasis, as a malefactor who got completely upset in the final phase of an actually irrelevant double match and first seriously insulted the Italian referee Alessandro Germani and then almost physically attacked him.
To put it mildly, the Acapulco scandal was a major setback for the reputation of the Olympic champion and German “Sportsman of the Year 2021”. In the months after his triumph in Tokyo and also the later victory at the ATP World Championships in Turin, the 24-year-old from Hamburg ran a charm offensive and increasingly presented himself to the fans in his German home market, even in evening shows like "Small versus Big". the ARD, Zverev appeared with a winning impression. But with the momentous scandal, the unbelievable loss of control on a side court in distant Mexico, Zverev caught up with old image problems - and, not just incidentally, the ongoing ATP investigation into allegations of domestic violence against his former girlfriend Olga Sharipova. Especially in the latest Causa Zverev, the ATP could therefore also be under a certain pressure to act.
Zverev must fear further sanctions
Zverev has to fear that in addition to the ban for the ATP tournament in Acapulco, further sanctions will be imposed. The incident in the doubles match at the side of his friend Marcelo Melo against the British-Finnish combination Lloyd Grasspool/Henri Heliövaara could be classified as a so-called "major incident" and result in a longer suspension from the tournament. Australia's eccentricNick Kyrgios , for example, was banned for 16 weeks in 2019 for verbal tirades against a referee and fined $113,000.
But what exactly happened in the late evening hours of February 22, 2022, when Zverev first set a world record and then recorded the darkest moment of his career so far? After Zverev and buddy Melo caught up in the second set, the doubles game went into the extension of a match tiebreak late in the evening in front of a bunch of diehard fans. The Brazilian and the German quickly fell 0:5 behind, caught up to 6:8 - and then it crashed for the first time. A controversial return ball from Glasspool/Heliövaara is given well by referee Germai - to Zverev's massive annoyance. Zverev points to a ball off the field, grumbles at the referee, then insults him as a "damn idiot" ("Fucking idiot").
Blackout after the handshake
It could have been the end of the game, automatic disqualification, if not it had to be. But Germani left it with a warning. The game is now 9-6 in a match tie-break for the Brit and the Finn, and seconds later, after an ace to make it 10-6, it's all over at 11:14 p.m. But only almost. Because after the obligatory handshake on the net, cool but civilized, Zverev catapulted himself into misery. The German Olympic champion hit the referee's chair with his bat twice, and only because Referee Germani pulled his foot away did he avoid a physical hit. Zverev then sits on the break bench and starts clamoring that Germani "destroyed the whole match." Then he gets up and hits the referee's chair again, just as Germani is climbing down. A concert of whistles and boos rain down on Zverev, who then leaves the square with Melo. And on the internet, a shitstorm broke out almost immediately about Zverev, which lasted all Wednesday worldwide, especially after the tournament was excluded at 1.50 a.m. by those responsible for ATP.
It's a moment when you think again of a warning that Ion Tiriac once issued to his protégé Boris Becker. You can build respect and recognition over a long period of time, says Tiriac, "but you can destroy everything with one mistake. In one day.” Zverev's catastrophic black-out was more than just a mistake.