Alexander Zverev forced off court after situation he 'never experienced before'

Alexander Zverev experienced a queasy moment during his Halle Open quarter-final when he had to leave the court abruptly to vomit. Having already witnessed a scary moment when a sign fell on a fan's head earlier during the tournament, the highly-rated German, often touted as the best player yet to bag a Grand Slam title, was taken ill just as his second game against Flavio Cobolli got underway, prompting a sprint to the restroom.

Zverev, who has been displaying top-notch tennis on home turf this week with victories over Marcos Giron and Lorenzo Sonego, seemed uneasy early in his match with Cobolli and had to bolt from the court at deuce. Nevertheless, he bounced back to take a 6-4, 7-6 win

Upon securing his spot in the semi-finals, where he would face former U.S. Open winner Daniil Medvedev, Zverev opened up about the sudden onset of his illness, stating: "I felt fine before the match and then out of nowhere I felt really, really bad and felt ill."

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"I went to throw up and then 15 minutes later I felt okay again. So I don't know what it was. I've never experienced that before. Hopefully I will be fine in the next couple of hours."

Zverev also previewed his forthcoming battle with Medvedev by saying: "I think it's the guy I've played the most in my career. Definitely he's one of the toughest opponents in my career. It's going to be a great match and I'm really looking forward to facing him."

However, Zverev eventually fell to Medvedev 7-6(3), 6-7(1), 6-4 – before the Russian ace lost 6-3, 7-6 (4) against Alexander Bublik in the final.

Still, Zverev has a respectable track record in Halle, having made it to the tournament's final twice before. He was defeated by Florian Mayer in the 2016 final and lost to Roger Federer the subsequent year.

The win over Cobolli marked his third consecutive semi-final appearance in Halle.

However, he fell short in the last four in 2024 to Hubert Hurkacz and suffered a loss to Bublik at the same stage the previous year.

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With Halle wrapped up, Zverev will shift his focus to Wimbledon, where he is expected to be among the top four seeds.

Despite his success elsewhere, Zverev has historically struggled at Wimbledon, never advancing past the fourth round.

Last year, he managed to beat Cam Norrie in the third round but was then ousted by Taylor Fritz in a five-set thriller. In 2023, he faced a decisive defeat against Matteo Berrettini in the third round, with the German player losing in straight sets.