Alexander Zverev has insisted his upcoming domestic violence hearing will not be a distraction ahead of the French Open.
The world number 4 was fined £390,000 by a German court and given an injunction last year after being accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Brenda Patea. The 27-year-old is contesting the charges and the hearing will begin next Thursday.
After confirming that he does not have to attend in person, Zverev was asked if the trial date concerns him.
“Not at all,” he said. ‘I believe in the German system. I also believe in the truth. I know what I did, I know what I didn’t do.
‘Eventually that will work out, and I have to trust that.
Alexander Zverev has insisted he will not be distracted from the French Open by his upcoming court hearing on domestic violence charges
Brenda Patea described her ex-boyfriend as ‘jealous’ and claimed this could result in ‘repeated physical violence’ against her. Zverev has denied all allegations against him
‘I’m not going to lose this procedure. There’s absolutely no chance that’s me. That’s why I can play calmly, and I think my results show that.”
In May 2020, Patea claimed the former world number 2 ‘strangled her during an argument’ and was a ‘jealous man’.
A statement from his representative Schertz Bergmann called the fine “outrageous” and hinted that the player would take action “by any means necessary.”
Patea is said to have had a relationship with Zverev for less than twelve months between 2019 and the birth of their daughter Mayla in 2021.
The German model describes that a “mixture of shame, fear of Zverev’s lawyers and concern for her child” played a role in why she postponed the request for the injunction, but spoke to South German ZeitungPatea said her decision to speak out came from an effort to set an example for victims of abuse.
Ms. Patea claims that during the confrontation, Zverev “pushed her against the wall and strangled her during an argument in the hallway.”
This led to ‘pain in the throat and neck and difficulty swallowing’, which she spoke about after the incident when she confided in two friends.
Zverev has been largely tight-lipped about the allegations, but described the penalty imposed on him last November as “complete bulls***,” before adding: “Anyone with a semi-standard IQ level knows what this is all about. about.’
The former world number 2 and the German model were together for less than 12 months
Zverev will take on 14-time champion Rafael Nadal in a breathtaking first-round match on Monday. He said he won’t underestimate a player who seemed like a shadow of his former self. “For me, in my mind, I’m going to play top player Rafa Nadal,” he insisted.
‘That’s what I expect from him. I expect him to be at his best. I expect him to play the best tennis he has played in a long time on this court.
‘There has always been discussion. I mean, [in] 2022 I remember he came to Roland Garros, not winning Monte Carlo, not winning Madrid, not winning Rome.
‘He came to this tournament and everyone was like, “Oh, he’s a big question mark, he’s this and that.” He came and dominated the entire tournament.
“I think he’ll be at his best, and that’s my mentality going into this game.”
Zverev was asked who he thought was more unlucky to play the other at the earliest possible stage.
He said: “I think if we had the choice, we both would definitely choose differently.
Zverev won his second title in Rome thanks to a confidence boost entering Roland Garros
He will face Rafael Nadal in the first round, a legend who he believes is at his ‘peak’
‘I really wanted to play it again, one more time. Because I didn’t want my last memory to be rolling away from Philippe Chatrier in a wheelchair. I really wanted to play him here.
‘I didn’t want to play him in the first round (smiling). I wanted to play against him in the semi-finals, finals, a later stage of the tournament.
“But in the end he didn’t get placed, that’s the way it is, and I think we’re both prepared for an uphill battle.”