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Alexander Zverev will begin his US Open challenge under a cloud following the latest allegations of domestic violence leveled at him by his ex-girlfriend Olga Sharypova.
In November last year, when Sharypova first came up with a detailed account of the domestic abuse she allegedly faced at the hands of Zverev, the German simply denied the story. But after a second part of Sharypova's interview with journalist Ben Rothenberg was released recently on Slate, Zverev went on the offensive.
On Friday, during a pre-tournament press conference, Alexander Zverev was asked by one of the reporters about Olga Sharypova's allegations. The World No. 4 responded by saying that a court had already "confirmed" the accusations were false.
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"I've always said that the allegations and everything that has been said is untrue," Zverev said. "The court confirmed that. So there's nothing else to say from my side because, as I said, the court confirmed that it's untrue."
But when a follow-up question was asked requesting more clarification about the court's statement, Zverev gave a cryptic response. The German stated that the court had confirmed the allegations were untrue despite having never gone to trial.
"We didn't go to trial. If the court confirmed it, the court confirmed it. There's nothing else that I can say," Alexander Zverev said.
Zverev's answers at the press conference echoed his earlier statement on Twitter where he denied any wrongdoing and threatened legal action.
"I'm not afraid of you or your family" - Olga Sharypova responds strongly to Alexander Zverev
Olga Sharypova took to Instagram on Friday to issue a scathing response to Alexander Zverev. Sharypova's post, originally in Russian, was translated by a Twitter user fluent in both English and Russian.
In her strongly worded statement, Sharypova asserted she was not afraid of Zverev, his family or his legal team. She also claimed that Zverev's legal team had engineered the media in Germany to disregard her story and prevent it from spreading.
According to Sharypova, the German media picked up the story after Zverev's statement and furthered his claim of having won the defamation case against her.
Sharypova also revealed that she hadn't been contacted by Zverev's lawyers and wasn't made aware that the German was going to court. She ended her statement with powerful words, indicating she was in no mood to cave.
"All your success and money won't help you to shut me down. Nice try to scare me (through claims of winning in court), but I have nothing to be afraid of," Sharypova said on her Instagram story.
Alexander Zverev says he has obtained a preliminary injunction
Earlier in the day, Alexander Zverev posted a statement on Twitter saying he would be taking the source, which could mean Olga Sharypova, as well as the author Ben Rothenberg to court.
Zverev stated that his lawyers had already obtained a "preliminary injunction" in the matter. He further claimed that the court had already ruled the allegations made by Sharypova to be untrue.
However, obtaining a preliminary injunction doesn't mean that the court has decided on the matter. In fact, as the term would suggest, it is a remedy granted to the plaintiff (in this case, Zverev) before a court has even heard the case.
The laws regarding a preliminary injunction are different in different countries. In the United States, a court cannot have ruled on a matter in the process meant to obtain a preliminary injunction. This was pointed out by several users on Twitter.
In Zverev's home country Germany, the laws pertaining to injunctions are quite claimant-friendly. The claimant (Zverev) can obtain a preliminary injunction without any involvement from the defendants (in this case, Sharypova and Ben Rothenberg).
The source linked above also states that unlike proceedings on merits, for an injunction, the German courts only consider the immediate evidence presented by the claimants seeking relief.
In that context, Alexander Zverev's repeated claims about a court having "confirmed" that the allegations were untrue seem a little unfounded. A preliminary injunction, in the United States or in Germany, does not rule on the veracity of the allegations; it is just early relief granted to the claimant, based on evidence provided only by the claimant.
Based on what Olga Sharypova later posted on Instagram, it seems as if the German was successful in obtaining the injunction in his home country. But by claiming that the German media has been spreading news of Alexander Zverev "winning" the defamation case against her in court, Sharypova has given this latest development a new hue.
The following Twitter thread throws more light on the legal implications of Alexander Zverev's claims:
