Tennis needs a policy to focus on violence claims says Novak
NOVAK DJOKOVIC backed the idea of a domestic violence policy for tennis after allegations made against Alexander Zverev.
The German’s season ended with a 6-3 7-6 loss to Djokovic at the ATP Finals.
The world No.1 now faces holder and US Open champ Dominic Thiem in today’s semis at the 02 in London.
Zverev has been competing under the shadow of serious abuse claims by his ex-girlfriend Olga Sharypova.
He denies the allegations, made by the former junior player on Instagram and in two interviews, but has not addressed them in detail.
The ATP had been criticised for not making any public comment until last week’s statement saying it “fully condemns any form of violence or abuse”.
Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili was in court last month to answer an assault charge against his ex-wife.
Major American sports have a policy setting out a procedure for such situations and Djokovic believes tennis should go down the same route.
He said: “I’ve known Sascha for a very long time since he was very young. 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 don’t know what happened. Obviously I’m not supporting any kind of violence. Whether ATP should develop a policy?
“Yes, why not? Probably it should be there in place.”
The top seeds have made the ATP semis for only the second time since 1990, with Rafa Nadal facing Daniil Medvedev in the other tie.