Tennis fan taken to hospital after getting hit by falling advertising board during Alexander Zverev's clash at Halle Open
Alexander Zverev's hunt for an elusive grasscourt title has begun with a clinical 6-2 6-1 victory over Marcos Giron in a Halle Open first round match during which he also helped an injured spectator.
Wednesday's match was interrupted by an advertising hoarding falling on spectators during the opening set.
A section of the hoarding came crashing down from the upper tier onto spectators below, forcing the chair umpire to stop play before Zverev immediately procured an ice pack for an elderly woman who'd been injured.
The players waited patiently while tournament organisers scrambled to provide medical assistance.
Organisers said the 62-year-old did not suffer any major injuries and was able to leave the stadium after the initial shock, but she was taken to hospital as a precaution.
They added that drumming against the boards may have caused the screws to come loose.
'There has never been anything like this in our 32-year tournament history. We deeply regret the incident,' tournament director Ralf Weber said in a statement.
On court, Zverev finished the match with 23 winners in the 79-minute contest where Giron struggled to match the power of the German's first serve and had no answer when his opponent's returns found all corners of the court.
World No.3 Zverev, still nursing the disappointment of Sunday's Stuttgart Open final defeat by Taylor Fritz, showed no mercy with the home fans firmly behind the towering second seed who has finished runner-up twice in Halle.
'I hope the lady is OK. Something like that should of course not happen,' Zverev said.
'Of course, I am happy with the way I played. But the most important thing is that everyone here goes home healthy and happy.
'It was a great match for me, I thought it was quite high level. Maybe he wanted to play a bit better than he did, but all in all I felt like I didn't let him play that well, which was important for me.'
Earlier, eighth seed Karen Khachanov dispatched Belgium's Zizou Bergs 7-5 6-3 despite a nasty fall on the grass.
Popyrin crashes out at Queen's
Australia's preparations for Wimbledon have taken another dispiriting hit at the Queen's Club Championships as Alexei Popyrin's agonising exit at the hands of home favourite Jack Draper ended their men's challenge at the prestigious London event.
With Alex de Minaur surprisingly knocked out and Jordan Thompson an injury casualty, it was all down to Popyrin to save the day and he could at least have been encouraged by the quality and the fight he displayed in his 3-6 6-2 7-6 (7-5) loss to Britain's great new SW19 hope Draper on Wednesday.
But when the match came down to a decisive tiebreak, it was world No.6 Draper who held his nerve best, coming up with the crucial big plays to disarm the Sydneysider and march into the quarter-finals.
Popyrin, who had saved two match points at 5-4 down in the final set, recovered to take a 4-2 lead in the breaker, with the best win of his 2025 campaign in his sights.
But did he then blink? For a wildly loose forehand gave Draper the vital mini-break to drag himself back into the contest, and at 5-5 he produced an inspirational searing backhand winner to earn a third match point, before sealing his hard-fought victory with a 14th ace.
That big-match acumen demonstrated just why Wimbledon is probably about to get as excited about Draper as it always used to be by Andy Murray, and it felt somehow fitting that the 23-year-old left-hander should be prevailing on the Queen's centre court now named after the great Scot.
'It was a tough match. Credit to Alexei, he played some amazing tennis,' said Draper, saluting the last Aussie in the singles draw.
'It was a bit up and down but you guys helped get me through that,' he added, thanking the crowd that included his grandad and other members of his family.
Popyrin, who's at a career-high No.21 in the rankings after reaching the fourth round at the French Open, is clearly going to be a threat to the grass-court elite with his 218km/h serve on the quickening surfaces amid a bit of a London heatwave.
And he shouldn't be discouraged by such a narrow loss, during which he went shot-for-shot with Draper, firing 31 winners to the Englishman's 33.
But Draper clearly feels he's got more under the bonnet.
'You know, before I felt like my energy wasn't that strong, and I felt like I looked like a bit of a Ferrari but I was a bit of a Toyota, like I broke down quite easy,' he mused, doubtless not seeking an advertising contract with the Japanese manufacturers.
'Now I'm starting to feel generally stronger and confident in myself.'
Elsewhere at Queen's, rising Czech star Jakub Mensik crashed out 3-6 6-3 7-5 to veteran Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, receiving a code violation warning for unsportsmanlike conduct at one stage when he smashed his racquet on the ground.
As it slipped out of his hands and bounced into a largely empty area of the stands, he could count himself lucky not to get disqualified.
With Wimbledon just 12 days away, Popyrin's defeat put the tin hat on a disappointing week of preparation for the Australian contingent on the green stuff.
Tristan Schoolkate, the one big success story on the European grass courts so far after his win in the Ilkley Trophy last weekend, got knocked out in his latest Challenger quest at the Nottingham Open, losing to Chilean Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera 6-2 7-6 (10-8).
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