'No excuse' – Alexander Zverev apologises after assaulting umpire's chair with racquet at Mexican Open
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Updated 23/02/2022 at 14:27 GMT
Less than 24 hours after his record late-night finish at the Mexican Open, Alexander Zverev was grabbing more headlines – this time for the wrong reasons. The German launched into an extraordinary attack on the umpire’s chair, narrowly missing his feet, as he lost his cool following his doubles exit alongside Marcelo Melo on Wednesday. The ATP kicked him out of the tournament over the incident.
Watch the shocking moment Zverev attacks umpire’s chair with racquet
Alexander Zverev says his violent outburst at an umpire’s chair was “wrong and unacceptable” after he was booted out of the Mexican Open in Acapulco.
The shocking incident came in the immediate aftermath of his doubles defeat alongside Marcelo Melo, with Zverev approaching the umpire’s station and whacking it with his racquet.
After briefly returning to his seat, Zverev approached the umpire again and yelled expletives as he worked away on the chair with his racquet again.
“You f****** destroyed the whole f****** match. The whole f****** match,” shouted the German, who narrowly missed the umpire's feet with his angry swings.
The ATP later booted Zverev out of the tournament, with his compatriot Peter Gojowczyk handed a walkover in their singles last-16 clash.
Taking to Instagram after the match, Zverev apologised.
“It is difficult to put into words how much I regret my behaviour during and after the doubles match yesterday,” he wrote.
“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.”
Zverev and Melo lost 2-6 6-4 10-6 against Harri Heliovaara and Lloyd Glasspool in the last 16 on Wednesday.
The incident came a day after Zverev played his part in the latest-ever finish in tennis history during his win over Jenson Brooksby.
The match started at 1:30am local time and did not finish until 4.55am.
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