Zverev beats tummy bug, sets up Medvedev clash in Halle
Alexander Zverev's quest for a first grass-court title has taken an unexpected turn at the Halle Open when the German second seed was forced to sprint from court to vomit mid-match before returning to defeat Italy's Flavio Cobolli 6-4 7-6 (10-8).
Second seed Zverev started Friday's quarter-final on the front foot by breaking in the first game but as he was serving in the second, he requested a toilet break to throw up and bolted off down the tunnel.
Once he returned, Zverev struggled with the intensity at first and clearly looked unwell, bending over in exhaustion after points and gasping for breath after a marathon rally.
All eyes on AZ 👀[2] @AlexZverev defies Cobolli 6-4, 7-6(6) to book a 5th Halle semi-final @ATPHalle | #ATPHalle pic.twitter.com/4M9OjTBL7d
— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 20, 2025
"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 said.
"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."
The semi-final will pit Zverev against Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev, a familiar foe who holds a 12-7 head-to-head advantage over him and has won their last three meetings.
"I think he's the guy that I played the most in my career. I'm looking forward to it," Zverev added.
"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 and I'm really looking forward to facing him."
Medvedev moved into the semi-finals with a 6-4 6-3 victory over American Alex Michelsen despite suffering a nosebleed in the second set which forced the 2021 Halle runner-up to take a medical timeout.
However, the Russian served well to deny his opponent a single break point opportunity and wrapped up the contest in 85 minutes as he reached the last four without dropping a set.
The other semi-final will feature 2023 champion Alexander Bublik, who knocked out last year's winner Jannik Sinner in the previous round, taking on eighth seed Karen Khachanov, who beat Tomas Etcheverry 6-3 6-2.
Bublik fired 37 winners in his 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 victory over Tomas Machac.
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