WATCH: ‘Peak sportsmanship’ Alexander Zverev returns to Court Phillipe-Chatrier in crutches to congratulate Rafael Nadal, receives a standing ovation


WATCH: ‘Peak sportsmanship’ Alexander Zverev returns to Court Phillipe-Chatrier in crutches to congratulate Rafael Nadal, receives a standing ovation

Alexander Zverev and Rafael Nadal

In a heartbreaking turn of events, Alexander Zverev, who was playing so well in the semifinal of the French Open against Rafael Nadal, was forced to retire after he injured his ankle seriously and took a bad fall. Zverev started screaming and fell on the court as soon as his ankle snapped. The German wasn’t able to stand on his legs and had to be taken inside for examination on a wheelchair.

ADVERTISEMENT

Nadal, as a result, won the match 7-6(8),6-6, and reached a record 14th Roland Garros Final. This will also be his 30th grand slam final where he’ll be chasing a record 22nd major title. Nadal will face either Casper Ruud or Marin Cilic in the final on Sunday.

Zverev was the better player at the start of the match and was serving as a dream. He even broke Nadal upfront and took charge from the baseline. Things looked in the German’s control until he was broken back by Nadal courtesy of a poor service game. Still, the match went into the tie-breaker and Sascha had as many as 4 consecutive set points which he failed to convert and lost the set 6-7(8).

Both the players indulged in long rallies for the majority of the second set but found it difficult to hold serve. There were as many as 6 breaks of serve in the first 7 games with Sascha holding his serve only once. But things got a lot stable and the set eventually went into another tiebreaker after heated exchanges from both sides.

ADVERTISEMENT

But during the first point of the tie-breaker, Zverev snapped his ankle and fell on the court immediately screaming in pain. He wasn’t even able to stand up and was taken inside in a wheelchair. After a short break, Zverev returned to Court Phillipe Chatrier on crutches with a big smile just to congratulate Rafa. They embraced in a heartwarming gesture as the German was received with a standing ovation.

Also Read: Alexander Zverev screams in pain after a scary fall during the French Open semi-finals, Rafael Nadal reaches for help

Twitter sympathizes with Alexander Zverev and wishes him a quick recovery

Alexander Zverev
Alexander Zverev

Fans lauded Sascha’s gesture of coming back to congratulate Rafa and sympathized with him by sending him ‘Get well soon’ wishes.

Also Read: WATCH: “I didn’t say that word!” Alexander Zverev gets into a heated argument with the chair umpire over an unfair warning

ADVERTISEMENT

Also Read: WATCH: “Insane” Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev play a mammoth 44-shot rally at the French Open