Zverev Overcomes Illness to Triumph at Halle Open

Halle, Germany — Alexander Zverev‘s quest for his first grass-court title at the Halle Open took an unexpected turn on Friday. The German second seed was forced to take an urgent toilet break mid-match after feeling ill, yet he managed to rally back and defeat Italy’s Francesco Cobolli 6-4, 7-6 (8).

Zverev started the match strong by breaking Cobolli in the first game. However, during the second set, he asked for a break to throw up and sprinted off the court. When Zverev returned, he appeared unwell, bending over in exhaustion after rallies.

“I felt fine before the match. Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, I felt really, really bad. I felt ill, went to throw up and then 15 minutes later I felt OK again,” Zverev explained. “I don’t know what it was, I’ve never experienced that before. I hope I’ll be fine in the next couple of hours when the adrenaline settles. After that, I think it was a pretty good match.”

Despite not being at full strength, Zverev held his serve and showcased a resilience that allowed him to fire his first ace of the match on set point. The second set remained competitive, as Cobolli utilized his movement to challenge Zverev, but the German eventually clinched the match in a close tiebreak, finishing with 22 winners and 12 points at the net.

Zverev will face Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals, a familiar rival who leads their head-to-head record 12-7 and has won their last three encounters. “I think he’s the guy that I played the most in my career. I’m looking forward to it,” Zverev stated. “A lot of things happened in the last 18 months. He’s one of my toughest opponents in my career. It’s going to be a great match.”

Medvedev secured his spot in the semifinals after defeating American Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-3, despite experiencing a nosebleed in the second set which prompted a medical timeout. The 2021 Halle runner-up did not allow his opponent any break points and completed the match in 85 minutes.

“The shadows on the court made the conditions quite difficult. It took some time to get used to it. It was then better in the second set,” Medvedev said, who is expected to return to the ATP top 10 ahead of Wimbledon.

The other semifinal will feature defending champion Diego Schwartzman against eighth seed Alexander Bublik. Bublik advanced after defeating his opponent with a commanding performance, hitting 37 winners in a 7-6 (2), 6-3 victory.

“I served well, returned well. I’m happy that I was able to save a bit of energy,” Bublik remarked after his match.