[imagesource: Abierto Mexico de Tenis / Via Reuters]

Alexander Zverev is known to be a little hotheaded at times.

You may recall that during his fourth-round exit to Denis Shapovalov at the Australian Open, he was given a code violation from chair umpire Damien Dumusois after smashing his racquet to bits.

Dumusois may look back at the match and feel he got off lightly. The same cannot be said for Alessandro Germani, the umpire for the Mexican Open doubles match involving the German.

Zverev and his Brazilian partner Marcelo Melo were beaten 6-2 4-6 10-6 by Britain’s Lloyd Glasspool and Finland’s Harri Heliovaara.

Following the loss, the world number three attacked the umpire’s chair and let loose with a volley of expletives. He has since been booted from the tournament, taking place in Acapulco, which means he won’t get to defend the title he won last year.

In this video, you can see the tension building as Zverev questioned the umpire’s ruling in the final set before he let his racquet do the talking:

Some additional angles:

Alexander Zverev is lucky he was merely kicked out of the Mexican Open for this.pic.twitter.com/sO5nokK9Ca

— Nick Harris (@sportingintel) February 23, 2022

Once the red mist lifted, reports Sky Sports, he did offer an apology:

“It is difficult to put into words how much I regret my behavior during and after the doubles match yesterday,” Zverev said in an Instagram post.

“I have privately apologized to the chair umpire because my outburst towards him was wrong and unacceptable, and I am only disappointed in myself. It just should not have happened and there is no excuse. I would also like to apologize to my fans, the tournament and the sport that I love.

“As you know, I leave everything on the court. Yesterday, I left too much. I am going to take the coming days to reflect – on my actions and how I can ensure that it will not happen again. I am sorry for letting you down.”

Both Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic agreed that disqualifying Zverev from the tournament was the right thing to do.

He will lose all of his tournament prize money, hotel accommodation costs, and points as a consequence of his default.

The ATP can also choose to impose further penalties, like a fine and/or suspension.

[sources:skysports]