2013 Wimbledon champion Narion Bartoli thought Alexander Zverev deserved a bigger punishment for his Acapulco meltdown.
During an Acapulco doubles match, Zverev lost his cool as he called the chair umpire “a f—— idiot” and smashed his racket multiple times on the umpire’s chair after the match.
Shortly after the match, Zverev was disqualified from the Acapulco singles event, where he reached the round-of-16.
Zverev was handed a total of $40,000 in on-site fines for verbal abuse and unsportsmanlike conduct.
Also, Zverev was stripped of the full prize money from Acapulco ($31,570).
After the ATP concluded its investigation, Zverev was handed an additional fine of $25,000.
Zverev avoided a suspension as he was put on a one-year probation.
If Zverev commits a similar incident in the next 12 months, he will be suspended for eight weeks.
Bartoli. The ATP should have handed Zverev a bigger punishment
“To see Alexander Zverev just going out and smashing his racket so close to the umpire and almost just wanting to attack him, staying in that fine line where he didn’t touch him and can defend himself, to me that was outrageous,” Bartoli said on Tennis Majors. “That, to me, deserved at least a three-tournament suspension. Not play Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo. It deserved that at least. Otherwise, where do you draw the line?”
Also, Bartoli suggested the fine Zverev received was “funny” for a player that earns as much as the German does.
“[The fine] was a big amount for normal people, but for tennis players such as Alexander Zverev who earns so much on and off the court, that was not that much,” Bartoli said. “I don’t think he will learn the lessons he should have learned.”
After the incident, Zverev released a statement, in which he admitted he was wrong in his action and vowed to do better next time.