Alexander Zverev keeps winning. But no one wants to talk about his domestic abuse trial.

This is getting awkward.

Alexander Zverev, the German tennis star who will go on trial in May on a domestic abuse charge, is still struggling with elimination from the Australian Open, which would save the sport from an issue no one wants to talk about.

The world number 6 then avoids defeat, escaping tight tiebreakers and five-set battles every other day. Zverev, 26, raises his arms. He answers friendly questions from a tennis personality, questions that never hint at the accusations or the upcoming trial in Berlin.

That’s what happened today (Monday) when Zverev won a fifth-set tiebreaker for the second time in a week, beating British number one Cameron Norrie, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7 -6. (3). It was a close and nervous duel in which Zverev’s great serve, as fierce as always in the final stages, won him the victory.

Zverev, who this month became a member of the ATP Player Council, which serves as the voice of players on the men’s tour, will face world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Minutes after his victory against Norrie, Zverev and interviewer Nicholas Monroe, a retired doubles player, led the Margaret Court Arena singing Happy Birthday to Zverev’s father.

The charges are rarely discussed in his televised matches, even though this is the second time a former girlfriend has accused Zverev of physical abuse. The first led to a 15-month investigation, which concluded early last year and found “insufficient evidence to substantiate published allegations of abuse.” On both occasions, Zverev has denied any wrongdoing.

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The latest accusations come from Brenda Patea, the mother of Zverev’s daughter Mayla. In media interviews and complaints filed with German legal authorities, she alleged that Zverev pushed her against a wall and strangled her during an argument in 2020. Patea said she told her friends about the incident at the time, but did not report it. to the police until October. 2021 out of a mix of shame and concern for her daughter, who was born in March 2021.

In October, a Berlin criminal court issued a sanctions order, fining Zverev almost $500,000 (£393,000) in relation to Patea’s charges. In Germany, a prosecutor can request a sanction order in cases that he considers simple because there is compelling evidence that should not require a trial. The defendant has the right to challenge the order, as does Zverev.

Speaking at the Paris Masters in November, Zverev described the penalty call as “complete nonsense”, adding: “Anyone who has a semi-standard IQ level knows what this is all about.” The player did not expand on the reasons for his objection. “To be honest, I am not going to comment on that because there is still a procedure to be resolved. Come,” he said.

A test is scheduled for the end of May, at the same time as the French Open. zVerev is not required to attend the trial and said last week that he does not know if he will. His lawyers called the legal process “scandalous” and said Zverev would take action “using all possible means.” The player will be considered innocent until a final sentence is handed down.

Another ex-girlfriend, former Russian tennis player Olya Sharypova, said that Zverev repeatedly abused her in 2019 in New York, Shanghai, Monaco and Geneva. Unlike Patea, Sharypova never involved the criminal justice system and presented her allegations in a lengthy article in the online magazine Slate and on social media.

The ATP decided to take no further action in January 2023 following a 15-month independent investigation that included Extensive interviews with Zverev, Sharypova and 24 other people, including family, friends and other players, as well as analysis of text messages, audio files and photographs. The investigation, carried out by third party The Lake Forest Group, decided there was insufficient evidence to substantiate Sharypova’s allegations.

Zverev has always denied any wrongdoing and has said that the only people who suggest there is anything inappropriate about his participation in this tournament, on the tour and in the Player Council are members of the press.

“Journalists say that, some of whom are actually more interested in this story to write about and more interested in clicks than in the actual truth,” Zverev said last week.

Days after making that statement, Sloane Stephens, the former US Open champion who recently resigned from the WTA Player Council, said someone facing trial on domestic abuse charges would likely not represent players in the WTA.

“The ATP beats its own drum,” Stephens said. “They do what they do on that side.”

Sloane Stephens was a member of the WTA Player Council (Robert Prange/Getty Images)

“It’s a difficult situation,” Stephens added. “Someone very prominent in our sport… I think he will now go to trial and face whatever he is facing (the matter can be resolved).”

Zverev has continued to play during investigations and legal disputes because the ATP does not have a policy prohibiting him. The other main tennis governing bodies that could be involved – the four Grand Slams and the International Tennis Federation – have followed the tour’s lead and decided to let the legal process play out on the courts before making any decisions.

When asked on Monday why he wanted to join the Players’ Council and what topics he wanted to focus on, Zverev mentioned several issues related to the structure of the tour and the playing demands faced by athletes.

“Playing 11 months a year is too much,” he said. Adding events to the tour “maybe getting a little out of control and also too much. There are just all these discussions. But they are very nice discussions. No one fights there, no one yells or screams. “We are all here to achieve the same thing and make a better tour.”

He made no mention of safeguarding or the allegations leveled against him over the past three years.

In this Australian Open nobody wants to talk about it.