Australian Open fans didn't hesitate to punch Alexander Zverev while he was down.
Zverev 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 to give world No. 1 player back-to-back wins in the men's singles final Sunday in Melbourne after Jannik Sinner was overrun It references two of the German player's ex-girlfriends due to his dark past.
As the 27-year-old prepared to give his runner-up speech after losing his third Grand Slam final, a woman from the crowd shouted: “Australia believes in Olga and Brenda.”
Some boos followed from the crowd, but some cheers from the players were mixed in as well. Zverev did not address the brief interruption during his speech.
Fans were referring to Zverev's former partners Olga Sharypova and Brenda Patea. The latter is the mother of her daughter Mayra.
Zverev, the world No. 2 player, continues to deny the allegations against him, and he settled the case against him from Patea in June without admitting guilt.
It's not the first time Zverev has experienced backlash from fans during a Grand Slam.
At last year's US Open, American Taylor Fritz's girlfriend Morgan Riddle made several Instagram posts about her views and the German matchup.
Influencers have been buzzing on the internet ever since surrounding Fritz's 16-winning round.
Shortly thereafter, Riddle regained her word.
“Regarding my story yesterday…as soon as I realized the misconceptions and how they were blown out of proportion by the media, I knocked them down,” she said. “They didn't happen on a tennis court and there's no bad blood to anyone.
Sinner solidified a 3-0 Grand Slam Finals record, becoming the eighth man in the Open era (starting in 1968) to win.
Meanwhile, Zverev is seventh at 0-3, adding Saturday's loss to his 2020 US Open and 2024 French Open shortcomings.
After the match, the German admitted that he did not know whether he would be able to retain the first place trophy.
“We are trying to do all the right jobs,” Zverev said. “I'm not good enough.”
“First of all, you can't stand next to this thing and touch it, to be honest,” he continued. “Congratulations to Jannik, you more than deserve it, you are the best player in the world. I was hoping to be more competitive today but you are too good. It's as simple as that I really thought I had a chance, but here I am. I don't know if I can lift this trophy, but I'll be back, I'll keep trying and give it to you next year. I’ll see you.”
There was only one notable moment in the match that gave Zverev a little hope.
He was leading 5-4 and at love 30 on a sinner's serve ready to break the Italian.
However, a break point and a set point were earned, and the Sinners won the next four points, ultimately winning the tiebreaker.
The final was the first between No. 1 and No. 2 players since 2019, when No. 1 Novak Jjokovic defeated No. 2 Rafael Nadal.
