Alexander Zverev’s outburst came as a surprise to Harri Heliövaara. Harri Louhos has been judging international matches for more than 30 years, but he has not been the subject of such a severe outburst.
Tennis star Alexander Zverevin raging in an ATP tournament in Mexico is rocking the sports world. German Zverev lost his temper after losing his Brazilian pair Marcelo Melon with doubles To Harri Heliövaara and the British To Lloyd Glasspool.
Heliövaara and Glasspool won the opening round of the Acapulco ATP 500 tournament by 2-1 (6-2, 4-6, 10-6).
Zverev, third on the doubles world list, fired when the referee ruled right at the time of the match, which Zverev thought was out of bounds.
At the end of the match, 24-year-old Zverev beat the referee’s chair with his racket. After already sitting down, Zverev had risen once more to hit the referee’s seat, shouting that this ruined the whole match.
Zverev was eliminated from the tournament, where he had already made it to the second round of the doubles match.
You can watch the story of Zverev’s rage in the video in the main picture. In the video below, you can see the point where Zverev and Melo argued with the judge.
The match was played in Finnish time early on Wednesday morning. Zverev later on Wednesday apologized for his use on Instagram.
– It’s hard to put into words how much I regret yesterday’s use during and after the game. I have personally apologized to the judge for my eruption. It was wrong and completely unacceptable, and I am only disappointed in myself. There are no excuses. I also want to apologize to my fans and tournament organizers, Zverev wrote.
– I myself have not always behaved on the tennis court as I would have liked. By no means am I trying to present an angel, Murray said.
Zverev, who won Olympic gold in Tokyo last summer, has also been in trouble on the civilian side in the past. Last fall, the ATP tennis organization announced it would launch an investigation into allegations of violence against Zverev.
Zverev’s ex-girlfriend Olga Sharypova has accused Zverev of mental and physical violence during a 13-month relationship. Zverev has denied the allegations.
Heliövaara: “That’s not how it should be”
Heliövaara, 32, who witnessed the incident as the winning party, wonders Zverev’s rage.
– That reaction came as a surprise to me. I didn’t find it any stranger during the match. Maybe Zverev just didn’t like to lose. He is the kind of player with a strong will to win, and when we got a few good performances at the end of the match, he got badly caught, Heliövaara tells Urheilu.
Heliövaara understands that Zverev soon humbly apologized, but that does not remove the reproach.
– Such an outburst of emotion is such a momentary state that it certainly annoys him afterwards. But still, we are experienced and have played so many matches that we need to know how to behave on the field. That shouldn’t be the case, even momentarily, Heliövaara says.
Heliövaara has already repeated the progress of a four-handed match due to Zverev’s scene on their blog (go to another service). He also wondered what kind of rotation the star players would face. According to the Finnish player, more security guards were needed around Zverev to push screaming fans away from the players’ locker rooms.
Judges have been instructed in the event of an outburst of emotion
Has served as an international judge since the 1980s Harri Louhos reports that Zverev’s case has been exchanged with colleagues. For Sport, he comments on the tennis referee at a general level, as judges who are actively involved in the sport are not allowed to comment on individual events.
High-ranking judges have been shelved for long periods after commenting on game events to the press.
Oral feedback to judges on tennis courts is often heard. The most recent titles rose in the Australian Open final in January Rafael Nadalille the final lost Daniil Medved.
However, according to Louhos, Zverev crossed the border in a rare way.
– Here comes one basic story of all sports, that the judge is untouchable. Even though Zverev just hit that chair, Quarry answers.
As with many other sports, tennis refereeing has changed in an increasingly technical direction over the years. There is a wireless sensor that detects the mains supply, a scoring computer and various Hawk-Eye video systems.
The quarry believes Zverev’s outburst of emotion has been surprising and threatening to the judge.
– We have been instructed in such a way that when such strong outbursts of emotion begin, we try to get out of the situation as quickly and appropriately as possible. As this judge did, he just gathered his rig and left.
Zverev’s outburst occurred after the match. According to Louhos, the instructions of the tennis judges include not leaving any explanation or discussion about the match with the players after the matches.
– However, if a player wants to discuss the match, we will tell him that the discussion will take place in the referee’s office after the game, Louhos says.
Marathon matches put the focus on the real test
– In how many normal ovens do you concentrate and scarp at full, practically without breaks, for about a long time, Louhos asks.
– The referees make the dune even when the players are sitting on the bench. Various procedures are underway. We clock the players’ half-time break and communicate with the line judges, says Louhos, for example.
Louhos finds it a little pointless to consider how grateful or ungrateful the judging is, but in any case, it requires a great deal of enthusiasm and burning for the species.
– Everyone makes mistakes, but the judge should make as few of them as possible. I would not say it is an ungrateful task. It’s clear that sometimes there will be different views, but if you know your job, there will be quite a few mistakes.
The referee’s tools to control players are warning as well as scoring or, in the worst case, disqualifying from a match. For example, hitting a ball or throwing a racket can go unpunished if the act is mild and does not pose a danger. The quarry says that when the seriousness of an act goes beyond a certain limit, a warning or punctuation should be used.
Louhos says he has run into some “pretty hard” outbursts of emotion in his own career, but they have remained verbal. More specifically, he does not want to open the cases of his own judicial career.
According to Louhos, Zverev’s exclusion from the tournament shows that acts against the judges are always taken seriously.
Players are not behaving worse today than they used to, Louhos says. High-level tennis professionals are required to undergo rule training, with professional referees going through where the limits of permitted activity go.
But if you think about the development of the players in general, Louhos has taken a huge leap in development during his more than 30-year career as a referee.
– The species has become enormous. Players are stronger and faster. The tool jump from wooden clubs to modern clubs has dramatically increased the speed of the ball.
According to Louhos, who turns 60 this year, new, young judges would be needed in Finland. When playing professional tournaments in Finland, you have to ask for help from abroad. The quarry says the situation is “pretty good,” but new factors are needed.
In the eyes of Heliövaara, the top-50 is there
In the next round, 32-year-old Heliövaara and 28-year-old Glasspool will face the winner of the match Tomislav Brkic and Nicola Cacic against Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares. The Finnish-British couple will thus be able to take revenge on Murray from Scotland and Soares from Brazil, against whom Heliövaara-Glasspool lost in the Australian Open in January.
Heliövaara is 55th on the doubles world list and Glasspool is 65th.
– The game goes great with Lloyd. It has been a really good start to the year. The top-50 looms. We want to continue with the same mood, Heliövaara rejoices.
– Lloyd and I have excellent chemistry on the field. It has also been praised by many British coaches that we are able to support each other really well on the field and our games coincide well. We’re both hungry – you can still say young players – and on the way up.