German tennis player Alexander Zverev has denied allegations of physical abuse levelled against him by his former girlfriend Olga Sharypova.
On Thursday, in an interview with Russian publication ‘Championship’ Sharypova confirmed that Zverev had raised a hand on her and ‘tried to strangle her’ in August last year, when they were still together.
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Her statement came a few hours after another ex-girlfriend of Zverev, Brenda Patea, revealed that she was pregnant with the tennis star’s child.
Zverev released a statement on Thursday evening, labelling Sharypova’s accusations ‘unfounded’.
— Alexander Zverev (@AlexZverev) October 29, 2020
“The last days were quite challenging for me,” he wrote on a social media post.
“I will be a father at age 23. And I am very much looking forward to the child. Even though Brenda and I are no longer together, we have a good relationship and I will live up to my responsibility as a father.
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“Together we will take care of the little person that is about to grow. But I don’t want to say more in public about this private subject.
“I am sure that Brenda and I can manage it, without the media involved.
“Then, there are the unfounded accusations of my ex-girlfriend Olga Sharypova, which I read in the media today. They make me very sad. We have known each other since we were children and shared many experiences together.
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“I very much regret that she makes such statements. Because the accusations are simply not true. We had a relationship, but it ended a long time ago.
“Why Olga is making these accusations now, I just don’t know. I really hope that the two of us will find a way to deal with each other again in a reasonable and respectful way.”
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Sharypova and Zverev know each other since they were junior tennis players. They were in a relationship for more than a year from 2018 to 2019, but the Russian, who is the same age as Zverev, said that she had been a victim of domestic abuse on multiple occasions.
In August during US Open last year, Sharypova stated that she had fled the hotel room barefoot after Zverev hit her head against the wall.
