Zverev: That's Not Who I Am

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By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday November 13, 2020

After telling the world that he refused to let them “wipe the smile of his face” after the Paris final on Sunday, Germany’s Alexander Zverev took more questions about the subject from reporters during his virtual press conference ahead of this year’s ATP Finals in London.

"Look, we are all here to play tennis,” he told the media. “I'm looking forward to be playing but in the last few days as you know, the focus has shifted a little bit to the off-court."

Zverev says that while many people would like him to say more about the fact that his ex-girlfriend Olgy Sharypova has accused him of physical and emotional abuse, he believes the best thing to do is stick with his original statement.

"Many people have asked me why I have kept my mouth shut, why I didn't say anything,” he said. “While I very much regret that those accusations were made, I have to stick to my initial thing of them being just untrue and continue to deny them."

Zverev has claimed that Sharypova’s accusations are untrue since the beginning, even after the Russian woman did an interview with Ben Rothenberg for Racquet Magazine in which she cites explicit details.

“We had another fight, and in that fight he punched me in the face for the first time,” Sharypova told Rothenberg at one point. “In other fights he was pushing me, shoving me, twisting my arms, choking me. But this was the first time he punched me, really punched me.”

Zverev maintains that it isn’t true.

"These accusations are just unfounded, they are untrue, we had our ups and downs, but the way our relationship is described in the public. that's not how it was, that's not who I am it's not how I was raised by my parents, it's not just simply who I am as a person. It makes me sad that the impact such false accusations can have, on the sport, on the outside world, on myself as well. I truly apologize that the focus has shifted away from the sport. We all love playing tennis, that's what we are here to do, to be focusing on, unfortunately, yeah, as I said [the focus] has shifted."

Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve

Zverev says that all he can do is tell his side of the story and leave the rest to the public to decide. Sharypova is not pursing legal charges, and says she has only come forward to help other women who face similar struggles.

"As I said, I have to keep denying them, because they are just untrue, and it's sad to see that those unfounded accusations can make such a big impact on everything," Zverev said.

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