As Alexander Zverev’s domestic abuse trial came to a premature end on Friday, the lawyers of his ex-girlfriend Brenda Patea admitted their daughter was ‘really suffering’ hence the settlement which was confirmed on Friday morning.
Patea who also is the mother of a child with Zverev who will play in the semi-finals of the French Open later this evening chose to settle with the former World No.2 due to the wellbeing of their daughter.
Patea had accused Zverev of bodily harm in the allegations with it being alleged that he had pushed her up against the wall and strangling her which caused her to have issues swallowing for a time. After a preliminary investigation, a penalty order of 450,000 euros was issued. A decision that he contested as is the judicial system in Germany and he was brought to trial.
But the writing was also on the wall as the case was set to be heard behind closed doors and Zverev himself wasn’t set to attend the trial. He instead was playing at the French Open with a potential end date of the Olympic Games. With many expecting the case to drag on, it ended with an out of court settlement. He will now face Casper Ruud in the semi-finals and attempt to put this behind him which was also the thinking of the lawyer team.
“We applied for the settlement,” Hartman said who represented Patea speaking to Jonathan Crane for DW. “The daughter was really suffering. So now they can both look to the future and get on with their lives. We ended this deal with [the feeling] that people should stop throwing things at each other.”
Judge Barbara Lüders said it was a ‘good ending’ for both parties. “I think it’s important to continue living without any further blame,” Lüders said. “That is what has been agreed here. It’s a good ending, it’s a success.”
“We are happy that an agreement has been reached,” Katharina Dierlamm, one of Zverev’s criminal defense lawyers said to the court with the daughter they have together in mind. “This is for the good of the child that they have together, so it has the chance to grow up without conflict.”