German tennis player Alexander Zverev was excluded from the tournament in Acapulco due to unsportsmanlike conduct. The Olympic champion from Tokyo did not keep his nerves in check after losing in doubles and attacked the main referee.
He first repeatedly struck the umpire with a rocket and just missed the judge’s legs, then vulgarly cursed him and added another rocket blow.
Twenty-four-year-old Zverev was upset after losing in the first round of doubles, in which he and Brazilian teammate Marcel Mel lost to the British-Finnish duo Lloyd Glasspool, Harri Heliövaara 2: 6, 6: 4, 6:10.
After disqualification from the tournament, Zverev will also lose the singles, in which he won the second round on Monday after a historic night duel.
The match with Jenson Brooksby ended just before five o’clock in the morning local time, later no match was ever played on the ATP circuit. Now his compatriot Peter Gojowczyk will advance to the quarterfinals without a fight.
In Acapulco, Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev triumphantly started the battle for world number one place. In the opening round, he defeated Benoit Paire from France 6: 3, 6: 4, and if he wins the title in Mexico, he will remove Novak Djokovic from the top of the rankings.
“It’s not easy to come back after a long break and rest. I’m glad I managed to fight until the end, because he was a very tough opponent, and I’m glad I managed it,” breathed Medvedev, who played for the first time since losing the final to Australian Open in Melbourne.
He is not yet thinking of a world number one. “If Novak hadn’t played this week, I might have had more in my head, because it would be just about me and how I would play,” Rus said.
Djokovic, who lost the opportunity to play in Australia due to a lack of coronavirus vaccination, did not enter the season until this week. But even winning the sixth title in Dubai may not be enough for him to defend the world throne.
Medvedev will be number one if he wins in Acapulco or if he advances to the final and Djokovic does not win the trophy in Dubai. Since 2004, only Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray have appeared at the head of the ATP standings.
Nadal also has a smooth start in Acapulco, and in the first match after the triumph at the Australian Open, where he won a record 21st Grand Slam title in the final with Medvedev, he lost to American Denis Kudla 6: 3, 6: 2.
Thirty-five-year-old Nadal lost only four winners in his entire match with Kudla, and this year he scored his eleventh win in a row. “It’s a positive start, it’s good to win in two sets,” said the fourth-placed Spaniard, who tried to save as much energy as possible in high humidity and closed the match with a winning forehand in 77 minutes.
Tournament trio Stefanos Tsitsipas, on the other hand, fought with Las Djer for more than two hours before advancing after two tie-breaks.
Matteo Berrettini and John Millman did not finish their matches due to health reasons. While the fifth-seeded Italian missed a duel with Tommy Paul due to abdominal problems, the Australian had to give up the match with Marcus Giron due to an eye injury he hit himself with a ball.
Acapulco Men’s Tennis Tournament (Hard, $ 1,678,065):
Singles – Round 1: Medvedev (1-RUS) – Paire (Fr.) 6: 3, 6: 4, Gojowczyk (DEU) – A. Zverev (2-Germany) without fight, Tsitsipas (3-Greece) – Djere (Srb.) .) 7: 6 (9: 7), 7: 6 (7: 4), Nadal (4-Sp.) – Kudla (USA) 6: 3, 6: 2, Paul (USA) – Berrettini (5-It 4) 6, 5: 1 retired, Norrie (6-Brit.) – Altmaier (DEU) 7: 6 (7: 5), 6: 2, Andújar (Šp.) – Hernández (MEX) 6: 0, 6: 1, Nišioka (JPN) – F. López (Šp.) 2: 6, 6: 0, 6: 4, Wolf (USA) – Sonego (It.) 3: 6, 7: 6 (9) : 7), 6: 2, Giron (USA) – Millman (Austr.) 7: 6 (7: 3), 2: 0 ret.
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