Germany's Alexander Zverev has been kicked out of the Mexican Open for 'unsportsmanlike conduct' after he kept hitting the umpire's chair.
'Unsportsmanlike conduct' is defined by the ATP Tour as 'any misconduct by a player that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the success of a tournament'. For example, John McEnroe's 'you cannot be serious' outbursts eventually saw him fined $17,500 and handed a two-month suspension.
Zverev, the world number three tennis player, has been booted out of the tournament in Acapulco after lashing out at the umpire at the end of a match, hitting his chair repeatedly with his racket to the point it actually broke.
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You can watch it here:
Zverev argued with the umpire over a line call in the match's decisive tie-break, preceding his 6-2 4-6 10-6 loss to Britain's Lloyd Glasspool and Finland's Harri Heliovaara alongside Brazil's Marcelo Melo.
As the players walked to the side of the court, Zverev swung for the umpire's chair, almost catching his leg on one hit. After the other players shook the umpire's hand, the German went back and hit the chair again while shouting expletives. He was then booed by the crowd.
'Due to unsportsmanlike conduct at the conclusion of his doubles match on Tuesday night, Alexander Zverev has been withdrawn from the tournament in Acapulco,' the ATP confirmed in a statement, per Sky Sports. It's unclear if Zverev will face any fines or a suspension.
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The player has been criticised across social media. 'I’ve just watched this and I am appalled at his behaviour. He could of [sic] easily hit the umpire, there’s no respect for officials and this deserves a ban from playing events, fines do nothing for someone worth millions! Shocking,' one wrote.
'This is disgraceful from Zverev and the authorities need to come down seriously hard on this. Tennis players have got away with too much for too long with their treatment of officials, with little punishment it keeps escalating until something like this. Time for action,' another tweeted.
'Context irrelevant, no excuses/exceptions unless that is, we want this to become the norm. For many years now footballers have gotten away with abusive behaviour towards officials. This is tennis, let’s stop this in its tracks - 3 month suspension for Zverev,' a third wrote.
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'Hope the #ATP come down extremely heavily here. What is #Zverev thinking? This behaviour has absolutely no place in sport. The example this sets to young players is completely unacceptable. I hope umpires/referees don't see negative behaviour at lower levels as a result of this,' a fourth wrote.
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Topics: Sport
