Alexander Zverev says heckling is a common part of many sports after he was involved in an incident that took place at the Munich Open last week.
The world No.2 was playing Tallon Griekspoor in the quarter-finals when a member of the crowd was heard saying ‘“Let’s go, you wifebeater” when he was serving at 5-5 in the second set. Zverev then asked the umpire for that person to be removed from the stands but it is unclear if they were ejected. He went on to win the match 6-7(6) 7-6(3) 6-4 before claiming the title on Sunday.
Earlier this year at the Australian Open, Zverev was also heckled at by another member of the public who shouted “Australia believes Olya and Brenda.” These are the names of two of his former partners who have previously accused the German of domestic abuse. An accusation he has always denied.
In 2020 Olya Sharypova accused Zverev of emotional and physical abuse in two separate interviews. Sharypova never launched any legal action and a 15-month investigation conducted by the ATP concluded there was “insufficient evidence” to support the claims.
Then in June 2023, Zverev was fined and given a penalty order for allegedly physically abusing Brenda Patea who he has a child with. The two went to court over the matter and the dispute was eventually resolved via an out-of-court settlement.
“In Munich the crowd was amazing, to be honest. I said this before, in the quarterfinal match against Griekspoor I was mentally out of the match, and the crowd was the one that got me back and I won the match because of the crowd, so I can’t complain at all.” Zverev told reporters in Madrid.
“To be honest, there’s always going to be one or two idiots everywhere. It’s in every single sport like this. You have it in football, races, you have it in tennis, you have it somewhere else. It’s just like that, it’s how sport is. But for me, the crowd was amazing in Munich.”
On the court, Zverev is hoping to continue his momentum at the Madrid Masters following what has been a roller-coaster season so far. In January he reached the final of the Australian Open before suffering a straight sets loss to Jannik Sinner. After that, he failed to win back-to-back matches in three out of his next four tournaments played. During this period, it was possible he could have clinched the No.1 ranking if he had performed well.
“No, I think I was just playing bad, to be honest,” Zverev replied when asked if the pressure of trying to become No.1 affected his tennis.
“That’s how it is sometimes. Australia did affect me, and there were a lot of things that, in my mind, I was not playing well.
“I’m past that now. I just won a tournament last week. Winning tournaments, especially those level of tournaments, you don’t win by playing bad. I’m happy that I did win, the confidence definitely rises after you win a tournament like this. Moving forward, I hope I can continue on the same path and still improve and still try to win.”
At the Madrid Open, Zverev’s opening match will be against Roberto Bautista Agut.
