Arthur Fils and Alexander Zverev faced off on Sunday in a tense and dramatic final of the European Open in Hamburg.
World No. 4 Zverev, who was born in the German city, faced the 20-year-old Frenchman hoping to claim his second consecutive title on home soil.
Fils won the first set, before Zverev fought back, but the sticking point came in the deciding set.
With the score at 5-5 and Fils on break point, he unleashed a controversial underhand serve, which infuriated Zverev.
The serve was out, but Fils was booed by the crowd and eventually won the game, which did little to calm Zverev’s anger.
Arthur Fils and Alexander Zverev faced each other during a dramatic final of the Hamburg European Open
The clash was sparked when Fils threw an underhand serve at a decisive moment in the match.
Zverev was infuriated by the move, but Fils stood up to the German at the change of ends.
During the change of ends, Fils confronted Zverev, with the German allegedly saying “no respect” to his counterpart, and the umpire was forced to intervene to separate the two players.
The jeers towards Fils resumed, with the Frenchman simply pointing at his ear, before shrugging and shaking his head, something that further infuriated them.
Fils eventually won the tiebreak to lift his first ATP 500 title with a 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-1) victory, but the drama did not end there.
After Fils’ winning point, the pair exchanged an extremely cold handshake at the net, with Zverev barely making eye contact with his opponent, before muttering something to himself and starting to argue with the umpire.
Things finally seemed to calm down when Zverev doused Fils with champagne and poured the drink into his opponent’s mouth.
They exchanged smiles as they received the trophy from the Frenchman, who will be one of the main local hopes at the Paris Olympics.
Fils defended his position and actions when speaking after the match.
“I think I did everything I could to win this match,” he said. “I had cramps at 5-5 in the third.
Fils was booed by the crowd, but the 20-year-old further angered them with his reaction.
The irascible and aggressive Zverev was left furious with his opponent’s actions on Sunday.
“I have cramps, I try to serve under my arm because I can’t serve.”
However, this is not the first time in recent times that the slightly irascible and abrasive Zverev has attracted attention.
Earlier this month, the German had a violent exchange with Taylor Fritz and clashed with the American’s girlfriend Morgan Riddle after losing an epic five-set battle in the fourth round of Wimbledon.
Zverev, who had been two sets up before losing, accused members of Fritz’s box of “overreacting”, while Riddle appeared to take aim at the world No. 4, who has faced allegations of abuse, both during and after the match. Zverev denies any wrongdoing.
The German said: “His team is extremely respectful. I think his coach, his physiotherapist, also his assistant coach, are extremely respectful.
“I think there are other people who may be in the draw who are not part of the tennis world, who are not exactly the kind of people who watch every match. They went a bit overboard.”
Meanwhile, Zverev, who last year was accused in court documents of physically abusing a woman in 2020, accepted a plea deal in the case last month. He agreed to pay Brenda Patea, the mother of his child, $217,820 (£168,679), but was found not guilty of any wrongdoing (Patea publicly identified herself as the victim in the case).
Last October, the Berlin-Tiergarten court issued a fine and a fine of around $488,000 (£377,907) against Zverev, who has denied Patea’s abuse allegations. A month later, he called the order “complete stupidity”.
Zverev and Fils exchanged an extremely cold handshake at the net at the end of the match.
Tensions finally seemed to calm down as the couple posed for photos and celebrated together.
Patea told German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung that Zverev strangled her during an argument. Zverev has also been accused of domestic violence by Olga Sharypova, another tennis player and his former girlfriend.
Sharypova made the allegations, also denied by Zverev, in 2020, accusing him of punching her in the face and suffocating her with a pillow.
The ATP investigated the allegations (through an outside firm) for 15 months but ultimately did not discipline Zverev due to insufficient evidence.
Following their agreement in June, Zverev said: “I told him from the beginning, I told everyone. I’m happy it’s over. Yeah, there’s nothing more to say.”
