Alexander Zverev wasn’t impressed at all after the first question he received in English was about his upcoming physical abuse trial in Germany.
Zverev, 26, is set to stand trial in Germany after contesting a penalty order that was issued against him in the physical abuse allegations made by his ex-girlfriend Brenda Patea. The trial will start on May 31st – during the French Open – but Zverev will be allowed to be represented by a lawyer so there wouldn’t be a need for him to show up in court.
On Thursday, No. 6 seed Zverev avoided a shock Australian Open exit after surviving a thriller against qualifier Lukas Klein and claiming a 7-5 3-6 4-6 7-6 (5) 7-6 (7) win. After a four-hour and 37-minute against Klein, Zverev was asked if he was planning to attend his trial in person.
Zverev appeared to be stunned by the question, before highlighting it wasn’t the first thing he wanted to be asked and adding he had “no idea” what he was going to do.
“Wow. That’s a question,” Zverev responded.
“I just played four hours, 40 minutes. That’s not the first question I really want to hear, to be honest. I’ve got no idea. It’s in May.”
Alexander Zverev© Getty Images Sport – Phil Walter
Zverev strongly denies the allegations made against him
After Patea – the mother of Zverev’s child – accused the German tennis star of physical abuse, a criminal court in Germany issued a penalty order against the 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medalist and ordered him to pay a €450k fine. In early November at the Paris Masters, Zverev didn’t hold back when asked how he felt about the whole situation.
“I think it’s complete nonsense. Anybody that has semi-standard IQ levels knows what this is all about,” Zverev said at the time.
Alexander Zverev© Getty Images Sport – Cameron Spencer
Following the ruling made by a court in Berlin, Zverev’s lawyers also issued a very strong statement, describing the decision as “scandalous.” Considering that Zverev strongly denies the accusations made against him, it wasn’t surprising that he took his case to trial.
But for now, Zverev’s focus remains on the Australian Open, where he faces Alex Michelsen in the third round.
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