‘Bloody [time] finally to be honest’: Zverev welcomes ATP investigation into abuse allegations in bid to clear his name

German tennis player Alexander Zverev has said that he supports the ATP Tour’s decision to investigate domestic abuse allegations made against him by a former girlfriend.

The allegations have hung over Zverev and the men’s circuit for the past 12 months even as fans and several former players criticized the ATP Tour’s silence on the subject. The world No 4 has been accused by his ex-girlfriend of physical abuse, some of which are alleged to have taken place during the Laver Cup and the Shanghai Masters in 2019.

Earlier this week, the ATP Tour announced it has opened an internal investigation into the allegations, which the German has consistently denied ever since they first surfaced in late 2020.

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Speaking on Media Day at Indian Wells where he is participating at the BNP Paribas Open, Zverev said he has been chasing the ATP Tour to also undertake an investigation since it is the only way he can clear his name.

“Bloody [time] finally to be honest,” Zverev said. “I have been asking them myself for months now. I have been asking them to do that since London last year because it is very hard for me to clear my name. “Only with something like this I can. It has been around for a year and there is not much more I can do to clear my name and I hope this will finally do it.”

I have proven I am innocent in a lot of different ways.

Alexander Zverev, referring to “a case won in court in Germany”

“I have been in court in Germany which I won the case against the author,” repeated Zverev. “I have proven I am innocent in a lot of different ways. I think with this investigation that is now finally happening I hope this can be done and dusted from a third individual party and we can move on with everything else.”

The German added that he feels the allegations have overshadowed his on-court success in 2021. Zverev won the Olympic singles gold at the Tokyo Games as well as two Masters Series titles this year but his off-court issues have taken the centre stage.

“I have had one of the most incredible seasons a young guy has had in the last probably 10 years winning the Olympics, winning two Masters Series, winning four tournaments and that is kind of forgotten a little bit. Once this situation is over, once it is done, we can go back to how it was.”

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