Alexander Zverev's gentleman gesture revealed by Davis Cup opponent

Alexander Zverev has received a word of praise from Argentina's Davis Cup captain Javier Frana. The reveal from Frana came after Germany's nail-biting win over Argentina in the quarterfinals, where they had to come back from a 1-0 deficit to seal the tie.

Jan-Lennard Struff lost his opener in straight sets, following which Zverev took down Francisco Cerundolo to level the tie. In the deciding doubles fixture, Tim Puetz and Kevin Kravietz prevailed to send their team into the semifinals.

Afterwards, Frana was all praise for the German captain Michael Kohlmann, stating that he was very 'respectful' when they spoke after the tie and greeted him with a warm heart.

“We exchanged warm words with the German captain. The winner, naturally, puts himself in the other person's shoes, understands what they're feeling, and even during his celebration, he was thinking about how a person or a team who came so close to victory must feel," he said. "He was very respectful. I ran into him at breakfast, we hugged and greeted each other again. It's clear that Germany is a very serious contender to win the Davis Cup," he added (as quoted by We L ove Tennis).

Frana then revealed what Zverev did, saying that the German No. 1 made a touching gesture towards his youngest son, who was inconsolable after the loss.

"I also asked him to pass on my thanks to Zverev, because he made a gesture towards my youngest son, who was very sad after the defeat. Stefano was sitting on the ground before the cars left, his eyes red from crying so much. Zverev walked by, greeted him, saw him, took a step, but came back to him, lifted him up, hugged him, spoke to him, and took a picture," he said. "My son is 14 years old. He told him, ‘That's how it is in sports.’ It will be your turn soon." He surely knew it was a member of our family and he did that," he added.

Germany are currently locked in battle with Team Spain in the semifinals, with the tie level at 1-1. After Struff lost his opener again, Zverev beat Jaume Munar to make the scores level.

Alexander Zverev had earlier criticized the Davis Cup format

Spain v Germany - Davis Cup Finals 2025 - Source: Getty

After the clash against Argentina, Alexander Zverev had shared his feelings on the Davis Cup format, calling it "sad" for the atmosphere. Zverev was of the opinion that Davis Cup matches out to take place only in the home countries of either competing nations, making for better fan experiences.

"I will always defend my country's colors and give my best. But don't you find it sad that this tie was decided with barely 1,000 people in the stands? If we had played in Argentina or Germany, we would have had an incredible atmosphere with 15,000 people. I find it sad," Alexander Zverev said.

In recent times, the Final-8 clashes at the Davis Cup take place in a single country, with Italy hosting the last three years. In 2026 as well, the matches are set to take place in the same country.

Edited by Shyam Kamal