In October 2020, Zverev’s former girlfriend, Olya Sharypova, publicly accused him of violence and emotional abuse during their relationship. However, she did not file any charges. The ATP then conducted a 15-month investigation but stated they found “insufficient evidence” to support the claims and take disciplinary action against Zverev. Later, in 2023, a German court issued a penalty order and fined Zverev following accusations of physically abusing another former girlfriend, Brenda Patea. Although this case went to trial, it was discontinued in June 2024 after Zverev and Patea reached a settlement. Despite settling the legal matter, Zverev continues to face criticism and negative reactions from fans during his matches. The incident in Munich is a clear illustration of this ongoing backlash.

Well, as per ESPN, the incident took place during his 6(6)-7,7-6(3),6-4 victory against the Dutchman, Tallon Griekspoor, in the QF of the BMW Open. With Alexander Zverev serving at 5-5, 15-0 in the second set, a spectator was heard yelling, “Let’s go, you f—ing wife beater” (translated from German).

At first, the tennis star didn’t pay much heed to this, while several other spectators jeered the heckler. But after winning the game, he went down to the chair umpire during the changeover and asked him, “Fergus (Murphy), please kick him out. I don’t want to repeat it. It’s the same guy who did the same thing before my second serve once.”

Later on, organizers confirmed that the spectator was removed from the stands. Speaking about this incident after the match, the world number 3 said, “Unfortunately, there are always one or two idiots in the stadium. That is no problem.”

Even after the 2025 AO final match, when Zverev was about to give his runner-up speech, he was interrupted by a spectator. According to the renowned journalist, Ben Rothenberg’s tweet from January 26, “Just as Zverev is about to speak at the trophy ceremony, a woman repeatedly shouts: ‘Australia Believes Olya and Brenda! Australia Believes Olya and Brenda!’ Broke through the silence.“

After that, during the press conference, when Zverev was asked about the heckler, he said, “I believe there are no more accusations. There haven’t been for, what, nine months now. Good for her. I think she was the only one in the stadium who believed anything in that moment. If that’s the case, good for her. I think I’ve done everything I can, and I’m not about to open that subject again.”

Amid all this, Zverev has now got closer to clinching his third title in his home tournament. What did he say after securing his spot in the SF?

Alexander Zverev’s reaction after narrowly escaping an Indian Wells repeat

The two-time champion (2017,2018), Alexander Zverev, came back from 3-5 down in the second set to win this epic contest against Tallon Griekspoor. With this, it’s the first time that Zverev has won three consecutive matches since January.

Seeing the Dutchman securing the first set in this match, his fans were reminded of his 6-4,6(5)-7,6(4)-7 defeat to Griekspoor in the R64 of the 2025 Indian Wells Masters. However, with this victory, Zverev has now taken his H2H record to 7-2 against the Dutchman. What did he say after this hard-fought victory, though?

“I’m extremely happy. Finally, I won a close one,” Zverev said. “I’ve lost a few of those in the past few months and I always said, ‘I need to get one of these’. I did today. I’m extremely happy with how I hung in there, especially in the third set, being 0/40 down in my second service game. I’m proud to win this match and looking forward to the next two, hopefully.”

“Me and Tallon, we kind of always have weird matches,” Zverev said further. “In Indian Wells I was serving for the match and lost my serve, then he was serving for the match and lost his serve. So you never know with us two. It’s always entertaining, we always go the distance, and I’m happy with the win.”

Now, next up for the German will be Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan. Zverev has a 1-0 lead over Marozsan in the H2H record. Can he now please the home crowd by securing his spot in the final of the 2025 BMW Open?