Alexander Zverev is battling two fights at the moment. On Thursday (May 30), he defeated Belgium’s David Goffin in the second round of the 2024 French Open. A day later, the Berlin court is set to start hearing an appeal by Zverev against a fine ($487,000) imposed on him for alleged domestic abuse against his ex-girlfriend.

The tennis player will be represented by his legal defense team at the hearing amid his ongoing French Open campaign. Shortly after his victory over Goffin, Zverev appeared in the post-match press conference, where a reporter asked him about the same. But Alexander Zverev, who has made his stance on the matter clear before, kept it very short this time.

Yesterday the reporter asked him, “Are you going to follow the day-by-day progress of the case against you which starts tomorrow during the tournament? And how do you deal with the attention generated by this trial?“

In reply to this question, Alexander Zverev simply said, “I’ve said everything before the tournament.“

The Berlin court has so far refused to name his ex-girlfriend. However, in October last year, Alexander Zverev’s defense team identified her as Brenda Patea, who is also in fact the mother of Zverev’s daughter Mayla. The German player is not required to attend the trial in person, unless summoned by the judge.

Just before the start of the 2024 French Open, Alexander Zverev was asked a similar question by one of the media personnel. He was asked to reflect a bit on how much these things are going to affect his mind in the middle of his first Grand Slam pursuit at the 2024 French Open. And he’s entirely focused on the game.

“Not at all” – Alexander Zverev speaks on whether his off-court battles hinder his fight on the court in Paris

The world number 4 made it pretty much clear before this tournament that these things are not going to distract him from his game. Alexander Zverev said, “Not at all. Because, at the end of the day, I do believe in the German system. I do believe in knowing the truth as well. And I have to be certain that you know I do know what I did. I do know what I didn’t do. And that’s at the end of the day what’s going to come out. And, um, I have to trust in that.” He sounded optimistic about this whole turn of events as he added, “I do believe that I’m not going to lose this procedure.“

Tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg has also been closely monitoring this issue. He recently reminded the fans of the public trial by stating, “Also a reminder for tennis follower schedule planning for Friday. Alexander Zverev has his first court date tomorrow in Berlin. Proceedings should overshadow the next two months of his tennis.“

For those who are unaware, it was Rothenberg’s reporting that had earlier led to the surfacing of domestic abuse allegations against Zverev by another former girlfriend, Olga Sharypova in 2020. Can Alexander Zverev manage to fend off his hurdles on and off the court in the next few days?