"His punishment wasn't hard enough" - Bartoli on Zverev

Alexander Zverev had a major meltdown during the Mexican Open in Acapulco while he was playing in a doubles match alongside his partner Marcelo Melo which ultimately led to him being kicked out of the tournament and fined, but former player Marion Bartoli didn’t think this punishment went far enough.

The German completely lost it with the umpire and subsequently started swearing at him and smashing his racket against the umpire’s chair repeatedly. Once he was thrown out of the competition he was fined $40,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct, and a further $31,570 in prize money was stripped away from the world No 3, however the 2013 Wimbledon champion believes he got off easy.

Speaking to Tennis Majors, Bartoli said:

“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. 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?"

She further said:

“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 – I don’t think he will learn the lessons he should have learned.”

Following that incident and several others, the ATP announced a more strict rulebook with umpires instructed to enforce existing rules more vigorously.