He actually has everything to become the poster boy on the tennis tour: Alexander Zverev, known as Sascha. The 23-year-old giant looks great, is personable, eloquent and a cosmopolitan. But suddenly the German hope with Russian roots is facing headwinds. The ugly accusations of spanking his ex-girlfriend Olga Scharypova weigh heavily.
The sports world asks itself: How deep are the abysses that open up behind the obvious?
Gross freak at the ATP Cup: Zverev loses his nerve once more(00:47)
Brash, arrogant and sometimes irascible
The fact that Zverev has several faces has long been known and actually does not matter. At times the world number 7 can appear brash and arrogant. According to the German “Bild”, his environment describes him as emotional and sometimes irascible.
On the court it shows in the smashing of rackets or mobbing against the referee like in Wimbledon 2018. Sascha also snapped at his father Alexander on the court. «Shut up, what the hell are you talking about! I don’t have any more serve and you’re telling me some shit! ”He yells at the ATP Cup at the beginning of the year.
“I tend to get angry”
Zverev knows about his “anger problem”. Last week he spoke about it in an interview with the «Gala», before the allegations by his former girlfriend. The US Open finalist said he had trouble losing. “It’s something I really still have to work on. I tend to get angry and eat my emotions into myself. ” Statements that don’t make him look good in the new light.
Zverev is actually not considered violent. He has never been described that way – until now. The 1.98-meter giant vehemently denies Sharypova’s allegations. But the Russian is already threatening further revelations. There have always been outbursts of anger.
Online petition requests suspension
Zverev already has trouble on his neck anyway. A petition against him entitled “Suspended Alexander Zverev” is already running on the world’s largest campaign platform “Change.org”. The aim of the initiator «Shauni R.» is to put pressure on the ATP so that the German is excluded from the tournaments of the tennis tour.
The campaign is still harmless. 158 signatures had been collected by noon on Saturday.
But what can grow out of it cannot be guessed. The hashtag #ibelieveOlya is currently circulating on Twitter. Numerous users show solidarity with Sharypova. The Australian tennis player Daria Gavrilova with her tens of thousands of followers offers a dangerous breeding ground for Zverev. It is good that Olga has opened up, writes Gavrilova.
Mud fight in full swing
The image damage has already been done for Zverev, who is under contract with Roger Federer’s marketing agency “Team 8”. How serious it will be remains to be seen.
He still has a pretty loyal fan base on his side. The Instagram post in which he defends himself is liked by the tens of thousands. In the comments he is defended and Sharypova attacked. She is only after fame, so the opinion of his fan base. The mud fight is in full swing.
