Alexander Zverev suffered an injury scare when he crashed into the umpire’s chair after chasing down a drop shot during his Wimbledon clash with Cameron Norrie.
The No. 4 seed was on the floor for several minutes as the physio was called to assess his condition.
But he eventually got up and continued playing.
Zverev took the opening set against the British No. 2 but he was left in agony a few minutes later after falling on the court. Serving at 2-2 in the second set, world No. 42 Norrie drew Zverev into the net but the 27-year-old tripped as he ran for the ball and hit his knee, eventually colliding with the umpire’s chair.
“Woah, woah, woah, woah. Uh oh. I think he just banged it I hope,” John McEnroe exclaimed on BBC commentary. “Into the net post?” co-commentator Chris Bradnam asked as Tim Henman replied: “Into the ground. And these courts are so hard.” Zverev stayed on the floor as the umpire came down and Norrie rushed over to check on his opponent.
It was another concerning fall for Zverev who, two years ago, snapped multiple ligaments in his ankle during his French Open semi-final against Rafael Nadal and left the court in a wheelchair. “After what happened at Roland Garros a couple of years ago, you hope for the best,” Bradnam said as McEnroe called for the trainer to come out.
The supervisor was the first on the scene before the umpire announced that the physio had been called. “He definitely hyper-extended,” McEnroe explained as a replay of the incident was shown. Henman continued: “In the left knee, and then banged his right knee into the ground.”
As the physio came out to assess Zverev, the American remarked: “Nightmares are coming flooding back into his head,” noting that it was also the left side that was the issue for the German in Paris in 2022.
But the fourth seed did not take a medical time out and got back up, returning to the baseline to continue the game. Henman raised concerns that his confidence could be knocked by the fall.