French Open: Alexander Zverev leaves court in crutches, gets standing ovation from crowd

Alexander Zverev's dream of winning the French Open title ended on a tragic note as he bowed out of the tournament on crutches. The German lost the first set to Rafael Nadal in a tie-breaker and once again took the second set to tie-breaker before suffering a horrific ankle injury. Zverev's injury meant Rafael Nadal faces Casper Rudd in the final.

French Open: Alexander Zverev gets a standing ovation

The first set of the Rafael Nadal vs Alexander Zverev match lasted for 1 1/2 hours with Nadal taking the first set with a score of  7-6 (8). The second set was also closely contested but Zverev tumbled behind the baseline while chasing a ball to his right with scores tied at 6-6. The German player held his ankle screaming in pain with his black outfit covered in rust-coloured clay.  

A trainer quickly came out to attend to the player, and Nadal also walked around the net to check on Zverev as well. Zverev was taken off the court in a wheelchair and after several minutes, he returned using crutches to inform about retiring from the match. He then hugged Nadal before leaving the court. The player got a standing ovation from the crowd for his exceptional performance against the 'King of Clay Court'. 

Rafael Nadal on Alexander Zverev's ankle injury

Speaking during the on-court interview Rafael Nadal said “Very tough and very sad for him, honestly, he was playing unbelievable tournament. I know how much he’s fighting to win a Grand Slam but for the moment he was very unlucky. The only thing is I’m sure he’s going to win not one, much more than one and I wish him all the best and a very fast recovery. But at the same time, to finish that way, I’ve been there in a small room with Sascha before we came back on court and to see him crying there is a very tough moment so all the best to him.”

He further added “Had been a super tough match, three hours, and we didn’t even finish the second set. It’s one of the biggest challenges on the tour when he’s playing at this super high level. Difficult to say a lot of things today in this situation. Of course, for me, being in the final of Roland-Garros one more time is a dream, without a doubt".