Acapulco (AP) – Australian Open winner Rafael Nadal hopes that tennis Olympic champion Alexander Zverev’s freak out can serve as a warning negative example.
Zverev had hit the referee’s chair several times with a tennis racket in Acapulco, Mexico, after a defeat in doubles and was then excluded from the rest of the tournament. “I think he deserves the penalty because you can’t act like that on the pitch,” Nadal said. “I hope it’s a learning curve for him and for other young players who lose their nerve.”
The 24-year-old Hamburger Zverev then apologized for his behavior and announced that he would learn from the incident. Because of the disqualification, Zverev cannot defend his title in Acapulco.
Record Grand Slam winner Nadal meanwhile advanced to the quarter-finals with a clear 6: 0, 6: 3 against Stefan Kozlov from the USA. The 35-year-old has now won all of his twelve games this year and, according to the men’s organization ATP, has started a season like never before.
