Alexander Zverev, who spun his ankle in the semifinals, said he was heard in a video message. The second semi-final saw drama as the climate activist interrupted the match by attaching himself to the net.
4.6. 13:19 • Updated 4.6. 13:37
Alexander Zverevin and Rafael Nadalin the semi-finals of the tennis French Open ended in the second round of Zverev’s injury. The German’s ankle spun as he tried to make it to Nadal’s breakthrough.
The match had been played for more than three hours at the time of the interruption. Nadal had won the first set in a tie-break of 10-8. The second installment was 6-6.
– Hey guys. Really difficult moment for me on the field today. The match was fantastic until what happened happened, Zverev said in a video post late Friday night.
Clearly in pain, Zverev, lying on the surface of the field, was taken to the locker room in a wheelchair. A moment later, he came to shake hands with the help of walking sticks from Nadal and the referee.
– Looks like my injury is really serious. Doctors are still examining it. I will keep you updated, Zverev said in a video message about his situation.
Finally, the German sent his congratulations to Nadal, who has won the French Open as many as 13 times in his career.
– It’s unbelievable that he’s in the finals for the 14th time. Hopefully he will be able to go all the way to the end and make more history.
Nadal will face a Norwegian in Sunday’s final Casper Ruudin. Ruud, 23, who is playing in the Grand Slam final for the first time, defeated the Croatian in the semi-finals Marin Cilicin 3–6, 6–4, 6–2, 6–2.
The semi-final was suspended for about 15 minutes in the third round when the climate activist who ran on the field attached himself to the net. Players were removed from the field until security personnel got the activist off the net.
– Honestly, it was pretty scary. I didn’t know what was going on, Ruud commented after the match.
On the back of the climate activist’s shirt read the message “we have 1028 days left”. According to the French Tennis Association, the activist had normally entered the event area with an admission ticket.
He attached himself to the net with metal wire and glue. Police arrested the activist after the incident.