"I'm very sorry"- Alexander Zverev "completely forgets" father's birthday, apologizes by joining Australian Open crowd in wishing him

Alexander Zverev recently sang birthday wishes for his father in unison with the Australian Open crowd after forgetting about the occasion.

Zverev went past Britain's Cameron Norrie on Monday, January 22, to reach the quarterfinals of the Melbourne Major. His duel with Norrie stretched to five sets and it took him four hours and nine minutes to clinch the 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (10-3) win.

This was his second five-setter at Melbourne Park this year. Earlier, his match against Lukas Klein in the second round also concluded in the fifth set with a 10-point tiebreak.

Notably, the German had an embarrassing moment during his on-court interview after the match. The presenter asked him if the win was the perfect birthday gift for his father, Alexander Zverev Sr., but he admitted to forgetting the occasion.

"I completely forgot, I'm very very sorry," he told his father from a distance.

He then sang the 'Happy Birthday' song for Zverev Sr. to make amends and the crowd joined as well.

Zverev has been training under his father, who was also a tennis professional, since his childhood.

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Alexander Zverev suggests "the fifth set was probably the best set" of his 4R match against Cameron Norrie at Australian Open

Cameron Norrie and Alexander Zverev shake hands: Australian Open 2024

In his post-match press conference on Monday at the Australian Open 2024, Alexander Zverev claimed that he dominated Cameron Norrie early in the match but faltered in the second set.

"I was in control at the beginning, obviously being a set and break up. Lost focus. He also started playing a lot better. It was kind of in my hands. I think when the sun went down and the court was in full shade, we both played a lot better," the World No. 6 said.

He was nevertheless content with his performance after crossing the line in the fifth set after a tough grind at Margaret Court Arena. He said:

"I think the fifth set was probably the best set that we played. But at the end of the day, I'm just happy that I won because it was a very tight and very close match. Could have gone both ways, obviously, with it being 7-6 in the fifth set. But I'm through and I'm happy about that."

Alexander Zverev will face Carlos Alcaraz next with a semifinal berth up for grabs. He holds the mental edge over the Spaniard with a slim lead of 4-3 in the head-to-head.