Alexander Zverev is testing his luck at the ongoing Melbourne Slam’s quarterfinals against America’s Tommy Paul. He performed impressively defeating Ugo Humbert, Jacob Fearnley, and Pedro Martínez. Although he fought well in the beginning of his quarterfinals match, his opponent scored a lead in the first set leading by 7(7)- 6(1). During the second set, the German player again received tough competition with Paul leading the set by 4-2. However, something happened afterward. More than a bad performance, bad choice of words became problematic for Zverev in the match leaving his followers quite anxious.

When the American ATP star was on serve, Zverev complained to the chair umpire frustrated by the noise coming from a spectator. Although he was probably right in his point, the ATP number two used some obscene words to express his claim. However, that became a problem as the umpire issued the German a warning for Audible Obscenity issued by the ATP rules. Zverev, who was already frustrated with the distraction, felt disappointed with how things turned out. With a tough battle, he eventually led the second set by 7(7)- 6(0). Now, Paul is again leading the next set by 2-1. Let’s see if Zverev can finally stick to his brilliance or if this distraction ruins his chance at the Happy Slam.

Now, Zverev can’t be blamed. This is not his only disruption in his quarterfinal clash against Paul. After the warning issued by the chair umpire, a feather fell into the court forcing the umpire to make a call. In the match’s second set when Tommy Paul was leading by 4-2 (40-40), the umpire called “let” as soon as the feather fell on the court. The umpire’s move stunned Zverev, who immidiately pointe dout other feathers on the court expressing disappointment over why the call was made for this particular moment. Although, the ATP number two returned to his side of the court, winning the set via tie-breaker, he was visibly displeased.

However, Zverev’s feud’s with chair umpires are nothing new in the scene. In his 2024 Shanghai Masters third round victory against Tallon Grioekspoor, the German ATP star acuused umpires of mistakes, bringing new drama in his career. So what did actually happen?

Alexander Zverev shouted at the chair umpire in Shanghai last season

Zverev overpowered Griekspoor by 7-6(6), 2-6. and 7-6(5) in a tough battle. However, the first set of his match remained in the sotlight due to his feud with match’s chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani. When the ATP number two was rallying with his opponent by 5-5 (40-40), the umpire called out a fault against Zverev. He claimed that the German hit the ball after it bounced twice on the surface. Zverev, in response denied it sying he made the hit at the right time. However, replays accepted Lahyani’s decision, making Zverev angry at the system. “How on earth are you calling that? I got the ball completely clean? Let me say something, you guys umpires are f***ing up the whole tournament this year. Completely,” he shouted. His words expressed his frustation.

Next, he threw his racquet on the surface in frustration. This led to a code violation, only offering Griekspoor the next point with a lead by 6-5 in the set. During the changeover, his frustration was visible when he claimed he lost his matches because of chair umpires’ decisions. “I’m here running my a*** off with the illness, you guys still do mistakes,” Zverev said angrily.

Alexander Zverev’s quarterfinals clash against Tommy Paul in the ongoing Melbourne Slam has gone even more exciting following this controversy. With the American leading the third set by 5-2 (40-0), let’s see if the German athlete can finally leave the Rod Laver Arena with a smile. Do you think that will be possible?