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Novak Djokovic mentioned he supported a home violence coverage for tennis following allegations made in opposition to Alexander Zverev after the highest seed reached the final 4 on the ATP Finals on Friday. The Serbian beat his German opponent 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) and can play US Open champion Dominic Thiem in Saturday’s semi-finals. Zverev, who gained the 2018 ATP Finals in London, has been competing below the shadow of significant abuse claims made by his ex-girlfriend Olga Sharypova. He strongly denies the allegations, which have been made by the previous junior participant on Instagram and in two media interviews, however has not addressed them in any element.
The ATP, which runs the boys’s tour, had been criticised for not making any public remark till final week, when it issued a generic assertion saying it “fully condemns any form of violence or abuse”.
Several main American sports activities have a coverage setting out a process to be adopted in such conditions, and Djokovic believes tennis ought to go down the identical route.
“I’ve known Sascha (Zverev) for a very long time since he was very young,” he mentioned. “I always had a great relationship with him, he’s a very nice guy. I have a lot of respect for him, his family. I was sad to hear that he’s going through something like this.
“I do not know what occurred. Obviously I’m not supporting any sort of violence. Whether ATP ought to develop a coverage? Yes, why not? Probably it must be there in place.”
Tennis has largely closed ranks around Zverev, with Australian Daria Gavrilova a notable exception in saying she believes Sharypova, and Djokovic has offered the German his support.
“He’s been dealing with it nicely by the appears of his ends in the final month-and-a-half or so. He’s been doing nicely contemplating he is received lots on his plate off the court docket,” said the world number one.
“I sincerely want for him that he overcomes this quickly and that he can give attention to his life and tennis profession.”
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Zverev again implied he would not be taking legal action — something Sharypova has also said — and, despite the allegations and the coronavirus pandemic, declared it had been a “nice 12 months”.
The 23-year-old reached the semi-finals on the Australian Open and the US Open remaining.
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