Staff Reporter.
German third seed Alexander Zverev retired injured from his French Open semifinal against 13-time champion Rafael Nadal after rolling his right ankle badly on Friday.
Zverev twisted his ankle as he tried to retrieve a shot in the 12th game of the second set and screamed in pain before being taken off the court Philippe Chatrier in a wheelchair.
After several minutes off court, he returned to the Philippe Chatrier arena on crutches to concede the match. He was trailing Nadal 7-6(8) 6-6 when the match ended abruptly.
Nadal said it was only “human” of him to feel sympathy for Zverev who was forced to retire after injuring his ankle in a horror fall.
“If you are human, you feel sorry for a colleague,” said Nadal after reaching his 14th final at Roland Garros and having seen his opponent scream in agony as he held his right ankle.
When he hobbled back on to the court on crutches to concede the match, the two men shared a warm embrace.
“It’s not easy to talk about. I hope that he’s not too badly injured, I hope it’s not broken,” said Nadal. “I was with him when he was having the ultra-sound.”
The match was played under the roof of Court Philippe Chatrier, creating heavy humid conditions with 15 000 spectators looking on.
However, Nadal said the court was not in a bad shape.
“It was an accident, it was just an unlucky moment.”
Nadal hailed Zverev’s performance as the German attempted to become the first German man to make the final since Michael Stich in 1996.
“It was a very tough match. He was playing amazing and I know how much it means to him to win a Grand Slam.
“The conditions were not ideal for me. I had to do a lot of surviving. The first set was a miracle but I was fighting.”