"I apologized to Roger Federer... It's obviously in the rules" - When Alexander Zverev addressed booing crowd after ball boy controversy against Swiss

Alexander Zverev once faced the vocal displeasure of the ATP Finals crowd after a controversial incident in his clash against Roger Federer. The German addressed the booing crowd at the packed O2 Arena in London, defending his actions amid the jeers.

Zverev and Federer locked horns in a blockbuster semifinal clash at the 2018 ATP Finals, with the German clinching the opening set 7-5. The encounter continued thrillingly in the second set, heading into a closely contested tiebreak.

The match took a contentious turn on Alexander Zverev's serve at 3-4 in the tiebreak when he abruptly stopped the point mid-rally after witnessing a ball boy drop a ball behind the Swiss. The chair umpire verified the then-21-year-old's claim with the ball boy and called for the point to be replayed, leaving Federer confused and drawing boos from the crowd. The German went on to claim a 7-5, 7-6(5) victory to advance to the final of the year-end championships.

Despite scoring one of the biggest wins of his career, Alexander Zverev apologized profusely to the jeering crowd in his on-court interview. Although the German emphasized that he was within the rules to stop the point, he disclosed that he had apologized to Roger Federer at the net and had been reassured by the Swiss.

"I want to apologise for the situation in the tiebreak. The ball boy dropped the ball. It is in the rules that we replay the point. I apologised to Roger at the net. He told me it was ok and it is obviously in the rules. I want to apologise to the crowd," Alexander Zverev said.

Zverev continued to express regret regarding the incident, insisting that it wasn't his intention to upset anybody. He also acknowledged the crowd's love for Federer but credited them for being fair throughout the match.

"There are a lot of Roger fans here and he deserves from what he has achieved to have the most fans. Especially here in London where he has such history. The crowd have been amazing and absolutely fair the whole match. Again I am sorry this happened. I didn't mean to upset anybody. That's all I can say," he added.

"Alexander Zverev shouldn't be apologizing" - Roger Federer on ball boy controversy in ATP Finals loss to German

Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev - Source: Getty

Although Roger Federer admitted that he was "affected" by Alexander Zverev's decision to stop play, he expressed his distaste for the ATP Finals crowd subjecting the German to boos over the controversial incident.

"Yeah, no, I mean, look, I understand the frustration. It's just unfortunate circumstances. These things happen. Booing, I never like it. We see it in other sports all the time, but in tennis it's rare. So when it happens, it gets very personal and we take it very direct," Federer said.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion also asserted that Zverev shouldn't have felt the need to apologize to him or the crowd since he had simply played by the rules.

"I think it's unfortunate that this happened. Sascha doesn't deserve it. He apologized to me at the net. I was like, Buddy, shut up. You don't need to apologize to me here," he said.

"He shouldn't be apologizing. He didn't do anything about it. He just called it how it was. He felt it affected play. There is a rule that if something like this happens, obviously you replay points," he added.

Roger Federer further emphasized that he wasn't "questioning Alexander Zverev's sportsmanship in any way" and wished him the best for the final. The German squared off against Novak Djokovic in the summit clash, claiming a 6-4, 6-3 victory to clinch his maiden ATP Finals title.