Andy Murray is all for the ATP opening investigations into the domestic violence accusations made against World No.4 Alexander Zverev by his ex-girlfriend Olga Sharypova.
Earlier this week, the governing body revealed it was looking into the allegations made by Sharypova, who claimed Zverev punched her in their hotel room during the Shanghai Masters in 2019. Last October, she went public with a number of accusations against Zverev which he denied. She has also revealed having attempted to commit suicide as a result of the abuse.
The German still insists he’s innocent but the ATP had to respond to growing pressure as some players have publicly called on them to do something. Murray is one of those players and recently praised the move, though he pointed out it took a bit too long.
The ATP has also announced an independent safeguarding report made to act as a guide as it pertains to the way forward when it comes to such issues.
“I think now you have to try to look at the positives of what’s come from that and, yes it’s taken a little bit too long, but now there is going to be a process in place and protocols in place when allegations like that are made,” Murray said ahead of his first match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
Zverev also claims to welcome the investigations in hopes it will see him prove his innocence.
“Bloody finally, to be honest. I’ve been asking them myself for months now. Because it’s very hard for me to clear my name and only with something like this I can completely,” he remarked.
“It’s very difficult in my situation because a lot of times the man is not really believed. I have proven that I’m innocent in a lot of different ways and I think now, with this investigation, I hope this can be done and dusted and we can move on with everything else.
“I’ve had one of the most incredible seasons a young guy has had in the last probably 10 years. And that is kind of forgotten a little bit.”
Meanwhile, Murray is hoping his career can take a turn for the better, with his body finally able to take on week-to-week competition. Indian Wells marks the latest of what’s expected to be a busy period for the Scot.
He has not been able to win consecutive matches, however, and is still ranked No.121 in the world.
“The matches that I’ve lost, barring Winston-Salem, are [to players] in the top 15 in the world – (Stefanos) Tsitsipas, (Hubert) Hurkacz, Casper Ruud,” he said. “They’re top players and have been this season certainly. I have also had a number of opportunities in those matches and not quite taken them.
“Partly that’s down to playing against top players, they’re going to snuff out some opportunities you create, but also there’s been some stuff in those matches that I certainly feel I could have done better.
“The positive I guess is that I’ve not been losing to guys I should definitely have been winning against at this stage.”
Murray will face Adrian Mannarino in the first round and it’s possible he plays Zverev in the third round of the competition. He’s favored to beat the Frenchman, with bookies such as Betonline Sportsbook offering odds on the big tennis matches.
It’s his first appearance in the Californian desert in almost five years and it’s never been somewhere he’s enjoyed playing.
“I did have some good wins and stuff here, it’s not like I played badly every year, but overall I’ve been pretty inconsistent here and struggled with that but the balls are getting much heavier, which I really like. I’m finding it a lot easier to control the ball in comparison to other years,” he explained.
He will be playing on a wild card again, which has been the case for just about every main tour event he’s played in since his hip surgery but he claims not to mind.
“Obviously I’d rather get in by right. But I could also argue that the three years I was out injured, I would have rightfully been entered into all of these tournaments,” he said.
“I think, after what I’ve gone through the last three or four years and what I’d achieved in the game beforehand, I don’t feel like I need to justify the reasons for why I should get wild cards.
“The tournaments are obviously making those decisions, I don’t make the call. I’m very grateful they’ve given me the opportunity to play here again and to play in the other tournaments this year but do I feel bad about it? No, I don’t feel bad about it.”