TENNIS hothead Alexander Zverev smashed his racket to smithereens as rage took over in the ATP Cup.
Zverev reacted furiously after dropping the second set against Alex di Minaur as he represented Germany against Australia.
The 22-year-old won the first set 6-4 and looked on course for a straightforward win.
But De Minaur fought back from 4-2 down in the second set to force a tiebreak which he won 7-3.
Zverev – who crushed his racket nine times during his Australian Open defeat earlier this year – saw his game desert him completely.
He hit seven double faults and won just 40 per cent of points on his second serve.
The world No 7 – recently cleared of cheating – vented his rage by smashing his racket into the floor before duly being handed a warning for racket abuse.
‘TOTAL DISGRACE’
Fans on social media blasted Zverev – who blasted a ball into a camerman’s jaw in October – for his outburst.
One said: “The best of all was that he sat down, stood thinking for some seconds, and then smashed the racket.
“This kid is an immature one.”
Another posted: “Incredibly bad attitude! A total disgrace.”
A fellow user wrote: “Oh god, is it that serious?”
Another said: “Here we go again… Still the wrong attitude. Didn’t learn much from all the advice at Laver Cup.”
And one user posted: “This is the kind of crap that makes me completely uninterested in tennis.”
Badboy Nick Kyrgios – in the other match – was reduced to tears when talking about Australia’s wildfires.
He struggled to contain his emotions following his 6-4 7-6 win over Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff in which he hit 20 aces.
