"There's always going to be one or two idiots..": Alexander Zverev not bothered by Munich heckler incident
ATP
Alexander Zverev admits heckling is common place in sport as he aims to move on from the incident that saw him called a 'woman beater' on home soil at the Munich Open last week.
The World No.2 was playing Tallon Griekspoor in the Quarter-Finals when a member of the crowd was heard saying 'Get out, you woman beater' when he was serving at 5-5 in the second set.
He then asked the umpire for that person to be removed from the stands but it was unclear if they were or just warned. He went on to win the match and had the last laugh as he won the title on Sunday.
Zverev was also heckled at the Australian Open earlier in the year when a member of the public shouted: “Australia believes Olya and Brenda.” The names of the two former partners that accused him of domestic abuse which he has always vehemently denied. But this heckling didn't get to him.
“In Munich the crowd was amazing, to be honest. I said this before, in the quarterfinal match against Griekspoor I was mentally out of the match, and the crowd was the one that got me back and I won the match because of the crowd, so I can’t complain at all.” Zverev told reporters in Madrid.
“To be honest, there’s always going to be one or two idiots everywhere. It’s in every single sport like this. You have it in football, races, you have it in tennis, you have it somewhere else. It’s just like that, it’s how sport is. But for me, the crowd was amazing in Munich.”
Zverev was asked about failing to grab the World No.1 ranking also and he said that he was just playing poorly plain and simple and that was long and short of it.
“No, I think I was just playing bad, to be honest,” Zverev added.
“That’s how it is sometimes. Australia did affect me, and there were a lot of things that, in my mind, I was not playing well.
“I’m past that now. I just won a tournament last week. Winning tournaments, especially those level of tournaments, you don’t win by playing bad. I’m happy that I did win, the confidence definitely rises after you win a tournament like this. Moving forward, I hope I can continue on the same path and still improve and still try to win.”
😮🇩🇪 During Alexander Zverev’s match in Munich today, a member of the crowd shouted:
— Olly Tennis 🎾🇬🇧 (@Olly_Tennis_) April 18, 2025
“Let’s go, you f****** wife beater” pic.twitter.com/bD8pxoU1eE
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