Alexander Zverev denied support by fans over his bold response to controversial line call dispute at Madrid Open

Alexander Zverev's spirited comeback victory against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round of the 2025 Madrid Open was marred by a controversial incident. The controversy stemmed from the German taking a photo of a ball mark on the line with his phone after a call went against him. Later, Zverev seemingly took a swipe at the ATP Masters 1000 event's electronic line-calling system, but this didn't go down well with several fans.

On Sunday, April 27, an upset was on the cards in the Spanish capital, as home favorite Fokina registered a dominant 6-2 first-set win over the No. 1 seed. However, Zverev held his own across the nerve-racking second and third sets, winning them 7-6(3), 7-6(0), to seal his spot in the 2025 Madrid Open's fourth round.

Despite the win, Alexander Zverev later took to his Instagram Stories and posted a photo of the line mark that he captured with his phone. He also took a rather sarcastic jibe at the electronic line calling system in place at the 2025 Madrid Open. According to Zverev, the ball should have been called out.

"Just gonna leave this one here This was called in Interesting call 🤔🤔," Zverev wrote.

Many tennis fans on X weighed in with their opinions on Zverev's line call controversy in Madrid. While there were some who sided with the German, there were several who criticized him.

"He literally has no right to say what's fair or not," a fan wrote.

"We don't care Zverev. No one likes you," commented another.

"As long as it annoys you, it’s in," another fan chimed in.

"The marks can be deceiving and are not as accurate. Players should educate themselves," opined one fan.

"You also should be IN jail and not out but alas," another added, bringing up the domestic abuse allegations made in the past against Zverev by two of his former partners.

"Is that a new trend among tennis players ?? why are you taking pictures of the line to post on instagram please," a fan questioned.

A similar incident took place at the 2025 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, where WTA No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka was at the center of the controversy.

In the aftermath of his win over Fokina, Zverev spoke up about the line call dispute he was involved in along with the chair umpire.

"I believe there was a failure in the system" - Alexander Zverev on Madrid Open 3R line call fiasco

Alexander Zverev (Source: Getty)

Reflecting after the match on his vehement on-court disagreement with the chair umpire over the contentious call, Alexander Zverev claimed that, in this instance, the Madrid Open's electronic line-calling system was flawed. According to the ATP No. 2, the ball was out by several centimeters.

"Honestly, I believe there was a failure in the system, I think there was an error in the system at that moment. I am a fan of the electronic system, but the ball was... It's not just a little, a millimeter in or out, it was like four, five centimeters," Alexander Zverev said.

The two-time Madrid Open champion's next challenge in the Spanish capital is a fourth-round clash against No. 20 seed Francisco Cerundolo.