‘Stricter laws necessary!’ Alex Corretja emphasizes the need for stricter laws to protect umpires after Alexander Zverev’s outburst incident
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Alex Corretja and Alexander Zverev
In what had been an interesting 24 hours for tennis, Alexander Zverev continues to make headlines. Having played out a thriller that became the latest finish to an ATP match as his first-round singles clash with Jenson Brooksby finished at 4:54 AM, the German was back on the court in a few hours’ time to play in his doubles clash.
Partnering with Marcelo Melo, Zverev was up against the pair of Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara who were coming into the main draw as lucky losers. Lloyd and Harri won the nervy match 6-2, 4-6, 10-6 to enter into the second round.
Corretja backs stricter laws to protect umpires
During the defeat in the doubles match at the Mexican Open, Alexander Zverev smashed his racket multiple times very close to the umpire’s foot, causing him to flinch in fear.
Speaking about the incident, Eurosport’s Alex Corretja says Alexander Zverev crossed the line after he was disqualified from the Mexican Open for smashing a racquet by the feet of the umpire in his chair. The former Spanish professional said that the young German needs to be able to control his emotions on court. Despite being sympathetic and acknowledging that emotions can sometimes run high, Corretja emphasized that the German had crossed the line in expressing it.
“Of course, I’m not in favor of breaking racquets. But I can understand that you can break a racquet. I did break racquets, and I’m not proud of it. I regret that. I think what happened to Sascha is he totally lost his mind. When you are against the umpire, and you hit the racquet against the chair and try to smash the racquet you are insulting him/her. This is a line which you absolutely cannot cross,” said Corretja.
The former World No.2 also went on to support the idea of stricter rules and sanctions for those who disrespect or abuse the umpire. Despite supporting showing emotions and passions during games and accommodating emotions, the Spaniard also emphasized ensuring that the players do not cross the line and that umpires need to be protected more.
“This is something that they should start being a little bit more strict about and show the players that there are lines in life that you cannot cross. And I think the rules should be a little bit stricter in order to show to the players that this is a serious sport, but also one with personality,” added the Spaniard.
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