Bec Hewitt's funny reaction over Alex de Minaur act that left Alexander Zverev fuming
The German wasn't happy with the actions of his Aussie counterpart at the United Cup.
Alex de Minaur drew the ire of Alexander Zverev during their pulsating clash at the United Cup on Saturday night, with the German unhappy about his Aussie opponent yelling out before the end of a rally. De Minaur claimed his latest top-10 scalp when he took down Zverev (World No.7) in three sets, winning 5-7 6-3 6-4.
It came after the World No.12 had also beaten Taylor Fritz (10th) and Novak Djokovic (1st) earlier in the tournament. Although Germany advanced to the final with a 2-1 win, de Minaur is set to climb into the top 10 of the rankings - the first time an Aussie male has been in the top 10 since Lleyton Hewitt in 2006.
'WE KNOW THAT': Rafa Nadal theory comes to light after sad Aus Open news
BACKLASH: Nick Kyrgios cops it over response to Rafa Nadal withdrawal
Hewitt, who is the Aussie team captain, was left in awe of de Minaur as he watched from the bench. Hewitt's wife Bec was also in attendance on Friday night, and her reaction was picked up when Zverev complained about a potential 'hindrance' from de Minaur early in the second set.
The Aussie let out a big grunt thinking he'd hit a clean winner, only for Zverev to get his racquet to the ball and send it into the net. Because de Minaur had yelled out before the end of the point, Zverev had every right to claim that he'd been hindered.
But the umpire didn't see it that way and awarded the point to de Minaur anyway, leaving Zverev fuming. Channel 9 cameras picked up the moment Bec Hewitt appeared to question why Zverev was complaining as she discussed the point with Hollywood star Rebel Wilson. Hewitt was clearly siding with de Minaur, even though commentators didn't.
"The umpire there, good on him, (but) I think he choked a bit on that one," John Fitzgerald said. Jim Courier added: "That's 100 per cent a hindrance. De Minaur wasn't trying to bother (him), but he's that quick he got there. That should have been Zverev's point."
Alexander Zverev leads Germany to United Cup triumph
In the end Zverev got the last laugh despite his loss. He combined with Laura Siegemund to beat Matt Ebden and Storm Hunter to send Germany into the final, before repeating the trick in the decider against Poland on Sunday night.
Iga Swiatek gave Poland the dream start when she thrashed Angelique Kerber 6-3 6-0 in the opening rubber. But Zverev levelled the tie with an extraordinary 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 win over Hubert Hurkacz, saving championship points in the process.
Zverev once again teamed up with Seigemund against Swiatek and Hurkacz in the mixed doubles, with Germany winning 6-4 5-7 10-4 in a super tiebreak. Fittingly it was Zverev who sealed the victory, hitting a backhand volley winner against a Polish team that had won 11 of their 12 matches in the event prior to Zverev beating Hurkacz.
"It's been absolutely amazing. It's been a pleasure and it's been absolutely so much fun for everybody to be part of this team, especially for me," Zverev said. "I really thank you guys for being part of this. I really couldn't be happier be sharing this trophy with anybody than you guys."
It marks Germany's first triumph in a team event since the 1990s. They won the women's Federation Cup (now Billie Jean King Cup) in 1992, the men's Davis Cup in 1993 and the mixed Hopman Cup in 1993 and 1995. The 1995 triumph in Perth was with Anke Huber and Boris Becker on court, while two years prior their wining duo was Steffi Graf and Michael Stich.
with AAP
Sign up to our newsletter and score the biggest sport stories of the week.
