Alexander Zverev was able to avert an early exit at the Australian Open with a lot of effort. But the first question about his victory upset him.
A reporter’s question irritated German tennis ace Alexander Zverev. After his second-round win at the Australian Open, he was asked whether he would attend his upcoming court hearing in person. Zverev replied: “Wow. That’s a question. I just played four hours and 40 minutes. That’s not the first question I really wanted to hear, to be honest.”
“He deserved it more”
The background is a penalty order that the district court imposed on the professional athlete in October 2023. Accordingly, Zverev should pay a fine of 450,000 euros (90 daily rates of 5,000 euros each) for bodily harm. However, the tennis player denied the accusation and lodged an objection. That’s why the trial is now taking place. However, since it involves a criminal order, Zverev can be represented by a lawyer and does not have to appear in person, as a spokeswoman said.
Aside from the topic, Zverev also devoted himself to sports after the marathon match: “I would have preferred to win in an hour and a half, but he played incredibly well. I didn’t know what to do for a long time,” said Zverev after his victory. “He deserved more to win today. But that’s how it is sometimes in tennis.”
The Olympic tennis champion won in Melbourne against the Slovakian qualifier Lukas Klein 7:5, 3:6, 4:6, 7:6 (7:5), 7:6 (10:7) and moved into the first Grand Slam tournament of the season into the third round. In the fight for a place in the round of 16, Zverev will face Alex Michelsen from the USA on Saturday. The 26-year-old scored his first match point against Klein after 4:30 hours.