Zverev was suspended from the tournament for “unsportsmanlike conduct” after he repeatedly smashed his racquet against the umpire’s chair upon losing his doubles match. Zverev disagreed with a line call at a critical juncture of the match, following which he verbally abused the umpire and attacked his chair.
The 24-year-old later apologized on social media for his behavior, saying that he was “disappointed” in himself and would ensure that such an incident doesn’t happen again in the future.
During his press conference after defeating Karen Khachanov in the second round in Dubai, Djokovic was asked to weigh in on the matter. The World No. 1 remarked that Zverev had handled the situation rather well by saying all the right things in his statement.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion noted that the “heat of the battle” got to Zverev in the end.
“I think the disqualification decision was not too harsh” - Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic also agreed with the tournament organizers’ decision to suspend Zverev, noting that it was “correct under the circumstances.” He recalled his own experience at the 2020 US Open, where he was defaulted for accidentally hitting a linesjudge during his fourth-round encounter against Pablo Carreno Busta.
The 34-year-old revealed that the suspension helped him realize that what he had done was wrong, implying that Alexander Zverev could benefit from the same experience.
While he did not expressly recommend any further action be taken by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), he hoped that they would take their time before reaching a consensus on the matter.
Djokovic, meanwhile, advanced to the quarterfinals in Dubai with a straight-sets win over Karen Khachanov. The Serb will face Jiri Vesely in the last eight later on Thursday.
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