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Alexander Zverev: "Wrong and unacceptable"
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PEDRO PARDO / AFP
Australian Open winner Rafael Nadal hopes that tennis Olympic champion Alexander Zverev's freak out can serve as a warning negative example.
Zverev had hit the referee's chair several times with a tennis racket in Acapulco, Mexico, after losing in doubles.
He had previously insulted the Italian referee Alessandro Germani.
For his behavior he was excluded from the further course of the tournament, so he is no longer allowed to compete in the individual competition.
"I think he deserves the penalty because you're not allowed to act like that on the pitch," said Nadal: "I hope it's a learning process for him and for other young players who lose their nerve."
The 24-year-old Zverev then apologized for his behavior and said he wanted to learn lessons from the incident.
"It's hard to put into words how much I regret my behavior during and after the doubles," it said in a statement.
His behavior was "wrong and unacceptable", he had already apologized to the referee, Zverev continued.
Because of the disqualification, he cannot defend his title in Acapulco.
Nadal is the most successful male tennis player in history, winning his 21st Grand Slam title in Melbourne earlier this year - a record.
At the same time, at 35, Nadal is an experienced player in his sport, he also comments on things off the tennis court.
He criticized Novak Djoković after his entry prank at the Australian Open.
The Spaniard himself advanced to the quarterfinals in Acapulco with a 6-0, 6-3 win over USA's Stefan Kozlov.
Nadal has now won all of his twelve games this year and, according to the men's organization ATP, has started a season like never before.
mon/dpa