Acapulco (dpa) – Olympic champion Alexander Zverev was also disqualified for the singles competition after an outburst of anger following his defeat in doubles at the tournament in Acapulco.
After the 2: 6, 6: 4, 6:10, Germany’s best tennis player and his Brazilian doubles partner Marcelo Melo hit the Brit Lloyd Glasspool and the Finn Harri Heliovaara several times with his racket against the referee’s chair, on which the referee was still sitting.
Zverev had previously been upset about a referee’s decision. The men’s organization ATP reacted immediately and excluded the 24-year-old from the further course of the tournament because of “unsportsmanlike conduct”.
Zverev won the title at last year’s top event. Early on Tuesday morning he had won his first-round match against the American Jenson Brooksby after 3:20 hours 3:6, 7:6 (12:10), 6:2. The game only ended at 4.55 a.m. – according to ATP information, a match had never ended later on the tour. In the round of 16, Zverev should have played against Peter Gojowczyk. The 32-year-old from Munich is now in the quarter-finals without a fight.
Altmaier out too
The tournament in Acapulco is also over for Davis Cup debutant Daniel Altmaier. The 23-year-old tennis pro from Kempen lost his first round match against British player Cameron Norrie 6:7 (5:7), 2:6. In the coming week, Altmaier will be part of the German Davis Cup team for the first time. March in Rio de Janeiro against Brazil.
At the ATP tournament in Santiago de Chile, on the other hand, Yannick Hanfmann is in the round of 16. The 30-year-old from Karlsruhe won 3: 6, 6: 2, 6: 4 against Argentinian Federico Coria, who was number five. In the round of 16, Hanfmann will now face Thiago Seyboth Wild from Brazil.