As of: January 25, 2024, 7:40 a.m
By: Jan Oeftger
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In terms of sport, things are going well for Alexander Zverev.
He is in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
But off the pitch he is annoyed by questionable security measures.
Melbourne – In the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, the German number one, Alexander Zverev, will face Carlos Alcaraz.
But that's not the only thing the Hamburg resident is currently busy with.
The behavior of the security forces at the Australian Open caused Zverev annoyance.
Alexander Zverev |
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|---|---|
Born: |
April 20, 1997 (age 26), Hamburg |
Biggest success: |
Olympic victory 2021 |
Best result at the Australian Open: |
Semifinals 2020 |
Zverev is denied access to the fitness room
Zverev wanted to go to the fitness room, but security staff refused him entry.
“I went into the locker room, the fitness area is right next to it.
“The security didn’t let me into the gym because I had forgotten my accreditation in the locker room,” Zverev explains what happened.
The world number six had previously defeated Briton Cameron Norrie in the match tiebreak.
There was also some excitement.
A viewer pointed out the Middle East war.
She threw “Free Palestine” leaflets and also shouted this message.
However, no stewards came to escort the protesters out of the arena.
So two spectators did this.
Alexander Zverev doesn't understand the security decisions in Melbourne.
© IMAGO/Mike Frey
Zverev lacks proportionality in security decisions
“That was a little surprising because the security in the players’ area is extremely strict,” said Zverev about the action and put both incidents in context.
"What are they doing?
They protect players from players and things happen on the pitch and it takes three or four minutes for someone to show up.
This should be the other way around.
There are TVs everywhere, they see us playing for four hours.
It should be OK to come to the gym to stretch, even if you have forgotten your accreditation.”
Zverev added: “That shouldn’t sound arrogant.
I understand that they are all doing their job.
But I think when something like this happens on the pitch, it shouldn't be a spectator that throws the person out.
It should be the security that should be there fairly quickly and not after three or four minutes.”
(jo)