Unsettling Challenges, Vomit Spells, and Knee Bashes: Zverev Battles into Semis
Struggling with nausea and knee-high boots, Zverev advances to the semifinals.
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An unwelcoming adversary and bodily troubles: But nonetheless, Alexander Zverev advances to the semifinals of the grass tournament in Halle. His next challenge is the "toughest" of his career: the Russian Daniil Medvedev.
First, Zverev dashed to the toilet to puke, then he whacked his left knee with his racket. However, the top German tennis star at the ATP tournament in Halle/Westphalia was undeterred by these significant and minor issues: After a grueling 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) victory over the irritating Flavio Cobolli from Italy, he's now in the semis and will face the Russian Daniil Medvedev.
"Before the match, I felt sweet, then suddenly I didn't. I had to puke," Zverev disclosed after the game regarding the instances during the first set: After breaking his opponent's serve at the start, he unexpectedly double-overed at the baseline at 40-40 in the second game - and hastened to the bathroom. "I haven't a goddamn clue what it was," Zverev sighed, but added, "Once that was over, it was a kick-ass match."
Sports Nasty Haze: Puke Spell Only Temporarily Stalls Zverev - Ready for Wimbledon? Zverev indeed bounced back, even chuckling off the mishap when he whacked his left knee with his racket while going for an overhead smash at 3-1. But the match was far from a breeze: The flexible Cobolli, who had won in Hamburg before the French Open, proved to be a rough customer, but he couldn't cash in on any of his six break points.
Next Up: The "Toughest Opponent"
After 1 hour and 41 minutes, Zverev converted his second match point - he'll now face an opponent on grass who he doesn't shine against. Zverev has a dismal head-to-head against Medvedev, having lost 12 of their 19 matches, including 11 of the last 13. "He is one of the toughest opponents of my career," Zverev said of the player he's faced more than any other, but added, "I can't wait." They last met in the semifinals of the Australian Open 2024, where Medvedev returned from a 0-2 deficit to win.
Sports Sinner Receives a Shocking Ambush - Zverev Ends Thriller with a Big Emotional Outburst The third-seeded Medvedev was the first to reach the semis. He crushed Alex Michelsen from the USA 6-4, 6-3. He too had to take a break: At 3-1 in the second set, the Russian slumped onto his courtside sofa to cope with a sudden nosebleed.
Zverev is competing in Halle for the ninth time, and for the third time, he can reach the final. He has never staggered across the finish line here. In 2016, he lost to Florian Mayer in the final, and in 2017, he fell to Roger Federer.
Source: ntv.de, ses/sid
- Tennis
- Alexander Zverev
- Halle
[1] Data Sources: tennishead.net, atptour.com, itftennis.com[2] Specific Grass Court Record: tennis-tour-stats.com[3] Head-to-Head Record: atpworldtour.com
"I'm not going to be able to do this" might refer to Alexander Zverev's initial uncertainty about his health during the match, especially when he felt unwell and had to vomit.
In the "sports" world, since Zverev plays tennis and his next opponent is Daniil Medvedev, a particularly challenging match is ahead, as Zverev expressed that Medvedev is "one of the toughest opponents of my career."
