Female fan, 62, taken to hospital after advertising panel collapsed on her during Alexander Zverev match - as German star comes to her aid
A female fan was taken to hospital after an advertising board fell on her during Alexander Zverev 's match at the Halle Open.
The German star faced the United States' Marcos Giron in his opening match of the tournament on Wednesday.
As Giron went to serve at 5-2 down in the first set, a loud bang could be heard on television coverage of the event.
The startled American was seen pausing and looking towards the stands for the cause of the noise.
'Golly, a disturbance in the crowd,' Sky Sports commentator explained to viewers.
'A bit of the board has fallen off there and come down onto the seats, I hope everyone is okay.'
Cameras panned around to the crowd to show a panel of an advertising board had come loose and fallen from the upper tier of the OWL Arena into the lower tier.
One spectator could be seen moving the fallen advertising board, while a woman in the row in front was seen with her hands on her neck in discomfort.
Zverev came to the spectators aid with the World No3 coming across with an ice pack, which was passed up into the stands, earning the German star applause form the crowd.
Halle Open organisers issued a statement following the incident, confirming the 62-year-old fan had avoided major injuries and was able to leave the stadium on her own.
Organisers added that the fan was still taken to hospital for safety reasons.
'There has never been anything like this in our 32-year tournament history,' said Ralf Weber, tournament director.
'We deeply regret the incident.'
The Halle Open said Weber had personal enquired about the fans condition in the medical centre and has offered her a free ticket to next year's tournament as a gesture.
Zverev was seen looking into the crowd as the fan was attended to following the incident
'We suspect that the drumming against the boards caused screws to come loose,' added event managers Udo Kleine and Uwe Greipel-Dominik.
'This must not happen and we apologise. We will also check all the other boards and their fixings immediately after the Zverev match.'
Zverev ultimately earned a comfortable 6-2, 6-1 win over Giron to advance to the last-16, before offering his well wishes to the fan.
'Of course, something like this shouldn't happen, I hope the lady is okay and is being well cared for,' Zverev said, as per Bild.
'She walked out on her own, which means she's reasonably well. That's the most important thing.
'The first priority is that everyone goes home happy and healthy.'
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