Alexander Zverev issues clarification behind controversial Madrid Open line call dispute with umpire

Alexander Zverev clarified the reason behind his dispute with umpire Mohamed Lahyani in his Round of 32 clash at the Mutua Madrid Open on Sunday. The German won the rollercoaster battle against Alejandro Davidovic Fokina to advance to the next round. Still, he ended up in a controversy over a questionable line call during the second set.

The incident occurred at 5-4 (15-0) when the electronic line system called a shot by Fokina in, while Zverev insisted that the ball was out and that the system had malfunctioned. This led to a heated exchange with the umpire, which resulted in a code violation warning for Zverev.

The tennis star even took to Instagram to share an image of the faulty call, which further fueled the fire. However, during an interview with Spanish media outlet Punto de Break, he broke down the reasoning behind his questioning of the incident.

"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," he said.

"Honestly, I believe there was a failure in the system at that moment. That's why I addressed the chair umpire and said, 'Please come down to see this, I'm not crazy (laughing), I can see what was happening,'" he added.

Alexander Zverev also absolved the umpire of his fault and admitted that he believed it was caused by reasons beyond his control.

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Alexander Zverev admits to umpire's constraints, says will address issue with higher officials

Alexander Zverev at the Madrid Open- Source: Getty

During the same interview, Alexander Zverev admitted that he believes the umpire, Mohamed Lahyani, had nothing much to do during that situation. However, he also added that he will take up the matter with the higher authorities and governing bodies like ATP and the organizers of the tournament for further clarification.

"It's not the chair umpire's fault because if as a rule he can't come down, he can't come down. So it's not Mohamed's fault, but I will talk to the supervisors, I will talk to the ATP, because as I said, this is not normal," he said.

"For an error like this to happen, yes, one or two millimeters I understand, but four, five centimeters is not normal. I believe there was a failure in the system itself, and when something like this happens, perhaps the chair umpire should be able to come down," he added.

The 28-year-old will take on Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina in his Round of 16 match on Tuesday.