"Being emotional for getting a sock from an abuser?": Fans react as woman breaks down in tears while interacting with Alexander Zverev at Italian Open

Tennis fans recently reacted to a woman breaking down in tears after interacting with Alexander Zverev at the 2024 Italian Open. The woman, who was a fan of the German, was brought to tears after receiving a pair of socks from him.

Seeded third, Zverev defeated home favorite Luciano Darderi 7-6(3), 6-2 in one hour and 48 minutes to move to the fourth round in the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome.

This win marked the German advancing to the last 16 stage or beyond in all five Masters 1000 events held in 2024. He had a quarterfinals run at the Indian Wells Masters, reached the semifinals at the Miami Open, and made it to the fourth round in both the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Madrid Open.

Following his victory over Luciano Darderi, Alexander Zverev went to the stands to sign some autographs for his fans. Among them, a woman received a pair of socks from the former World No. 2 after which she promptly broke down in tears.

However, several tennis fans around the world were not happy to see the woman being a fan of Zverev as the player has faced allegations of domestic violence from his former partner and mother of his child, Brenda Patea. He was previously accused of similar abusive behavior by one of his ex-girlfriends, Olga Sharypova.

The fans took to social media to express their disapproval of the woman's emotional reaction to receiving a gift from Zverev. One fan stated that they could not believe that the woman became emotional after getting a pair of socks from an "abuser."

"Being emotional for getting a sock from an abuser?" a fan wrote.

"Why does ATP keep promoting this guy?" a fan commented.

"Doing this knowing what we know about him is crazy," a fan wrote.

Screengrab from Instagram

Another fan made a sarcastic remark, suggesting that the fan was fortunate Alexander Zverev did not "hit" her.

"Zverev is accused by two women of domestic abuse, including the mother of his child. His court date in Germany is this May. Stop promoting him," a fan wrote.

"She's lucky he didn't hit her 😂 ," a fan commented.

Screengrab from Instagram

Several fans also expressed disbelief in the woman's reaction of getting that much emotional after interacting with the German.

"How can you react like that to a man who is an abuser?" a fan commented.

"I will never understand how this guy actually has fans," a fan stated.

"She needs to get a grip 💀 💀 💀 ," a fan wrote.

Screengrab of reactions

Alexander Zverev will face Nuno Borges in the fourth round at Italian Open 2024

Alexander Zverev at Internazionali BNL D'Italia 2024

Alexander Zverev will go up against Portugal's Nuno Borges in the fourth round of the 2024 Italian Open.

Zverev kicked off his Italian Open campaign in the second round after receiving a first-round bye. He defeated Aleksander Vukic 6-0, 6-4 in his opening match and then secured a victory against Luciano Darderi in the third round to advance to the fourth.

Meanwhile, Borges defeated Pedro Martinez 6-3(3), 6-4, 7-6(8) and 15th seed Alexander Bublik 6-4, 6-4 in the first and second rounds, respectively. He then overcame Italy's Francesco Passaro 4-6, 7-6(8), 7-6(4) in the third round to set up a fourth-round clash against Zverev.

Alexander Zverev and Nuno Borges have never faced each other on the ATP Tour therefore their head-to-head record currently stands at 0-0.