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CNN
27 minutes ago
- Sport
- CNN
Alex Zverev reaches second round in Halle after coming to aid of injured spectator
Alex Zverev continued his Wimbledon preparations with a dominant 6-2, 6-1 win over the US' Marcos Giron to reach the second round in Halle, despite his attention being temporarily diverted to help an injured fan in the stands. Play was halted in the first set with Zverev leading 5-2, 15-30 after a crash was heard inside the arena, with video footage showing that a piece of an advertising hoarding had fallen and struck a female spectator sitting in the tier below. The world No. 3 quickly went over and handed an ice pack to the fan, who held it against the back of her neck. '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. The woman didn't suffer any 'major injuries,' the statement added, but was taken to hospital 'for safety reasons.' Weber also offered the spectator a season ticket for next year. Event managers Dr. Udo Kleine and Uwe Greipel-Dominik said in a joint statement that they suspect 'drumming against the boards caused screws to come loose.' 'This must not happen and we apologise. We will also check all the other boards and their fixings immediately after the Zverev match,' they added. Zverev, who is still searching for his first career grass title after defeat to Taylor Fritz in Sunday's Stuttgart Open final, will play Italy's Lorenzo Sonego in the second round. The German has twice previously reached the final in Halle, in 2016 and 2017, and is aiming for his seventh career title on home soil.
CNN
an hour ago
- Sport
- CNN
Alex Zverev reaches second round in Halle after coming to aid of injured spectator
Alex Zverev continued his Wimbledon preparations with a dominant 6-2, 6-1 win over the US' Marcos Giron to reach the second round in Halle, despite his attention being temporarily diverted to help an injured fan in the stands. Play was halted in the first set with Zverev leading 5-2, 15-30 after a crash was heard inside the arena, with video footage showing that a piece of an advertising hoarding had fallen and struck a female spectator sitting in the tier below. The world No. 3 quickly went over and handed an ice pack to the fan, who held it against the back of her neck. '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. The woman didn't suffer any 'major injuries,' the statement added, but was taken to hospital 'for safety reasons.' Weber also offered the spectator a season ticket for next year. Event managers Dr. Udo Kleine and Uwe Greipel-Dominik said in a joint statement that they suspect 'drumming against the boards caused screws to come loose.' 'This must not happen and we apologise. We will also check all the other boards and their fixings immediately after the Zverev match,' they added. Zverev, who is still searching for his first career grass title after defeat to Taylor Fritz in Sunday's Stuttgart Open final, will play Italy's Lorenzo Sonego in the second round. The German has twice previously reached the final in Halle, in 2016 and 2017, and is aiming for his seventh career title on home soil.
News18
4 hours ago
- Sport
- News18
Halle Open: Fan Suffers Minor Injury As Advertisement Board Falls
Last Updated: The 62-year-old lady was taken to the hospital as a precaution after a wooden piece from a hoarding fell on her. A woman sustained a minor injury during the encounter between Alexander Zverev and Marcos Giron as an advertisement board fell on her at the Halle Open in Germany on Thursday. The 62-year-old lady was taken to the hospital as a precaution after a wooden piece from a hoarding fell on her, and tournament director Ralf Weber promised the fan a season ticket as a compensatory gesture. 'There has never been anything like this in our 32-year tournament history," 'We deeply regret the incident," Weber added. 'We suspect that the drumming against the boards caused screws to come loose. This must not happen and we apologise," the event organisers said. 'We will also check all the other boards and their fixings immediately after the Zverev match," they added. 'There has never been anything like this in our 32-year tournament history. We deeply regret the incident,' said Tournament Director Ralf Weber. — TERRA WORTMANN OPEN (@ATPHalle) June 18, 2025 Zverev, who reacted quickly to the freak incident as he handed out an ice pack into the stands before the old lady was taken to the hospital, posted a win over his American opponent with a 6-2, 6-1 triumph at Halle, which was turned into a grass court in 2021 from a clay court and has been a tune-up event to the Wimbledon ever since. 'It was a great match from me," the German homeboy said. 'I felt like I didn't let him play that well, which was important," the 28-year-old added. Zverev is slated to take on Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the Round of 16 at Halle on Thursday following his progress. First Published:
National Post
14 hours ago
- Sport
- National Post
Alexander Zverev steps in after an advertising board lands on a spectator at Halle
Alexander Zverev and an umpire helped out with ice after a spectator was struck by a falling advertising board during his match at the Halle grass-court tournament Wednesday. Article content The board fell from the upper tier of the stadium into the crowd on the lower tier near the end of the first set and struck a 62-year-old female spectator from the local area, organizers said, adding that Zverev and umpire Renaud Lichtenstein rushed over with ice to treat her. Article content Article content Article content Organizers said the spectator was able to leave the venue by herself, holding an ice pack provided by Zverev to her neck. She was later taken to a hospital as a precaution, they added. Article content 'Something like this has never happened in the 32-year history of our tournament. We deeply regret the incident,' tournament director Ralf Weber said. Article content The tournament said that Weber met with the spectator in the event's medical center and gave her a free pass for next year's tournament. Article content A statement from two event managers, Udo Kleine und Uwe Greipel-Dominik, on the tournament website suggested that screws holding the board in place might have come close because of 'drumming against the boards.' Article content They added that nearby boards were checked before the match continued and that plans were in place to check all other boards at that court. Article content It didn't stop Zverev from racing to a 6-2, 6-1 win over American Marcos Giron in the first round of the tournament, a warm-up for Wimbledon. It continued the German player's strong form on grass after he was the runner-up in Stuttgart last week. Article content Also Wednesday at Halle, third-seeded Daniil Medvedev won 6-2, 7-5 over Quentin Halys and eighth-seeded Karen Khachanov won 7-5, 6-3 against Zizou Bergs in the first round. Alex Michelsen beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 (5), 7-5 and will play Medvedev next. Article content
The Sun
14 hours ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Spectator treated for injuries as PANEL falls from above and loud bang heard in arena during Alexander Zverev clash
A TENNIS fan was taken to hospital after a stadium panel collapsed and landed on her during Alexander Zverev's match at Halle earlier today. Zverev, 28, was taking on American Marcos Giron in front of a home German crowd. 5 5 5 With Giron about to serve at 2-5 15-30 in the first set, a loud bang and subsequent yelling could be heard from the crowd. It scarily emerged that an advertising panel had fallen from the front of the upper tier onto the lower seats. Zverev and umpire Renaud Lichtenstein approached the stands offering an ice pack. The tournament went on to confirm that a 62-year-old spectator had been taken to hospital following the frightening incident. But thankfully, the woman did not suffer any major injuries. Tournament director Ralf Weber said: "Something like this has never happened in our 32-year tournament history. We deeply regret the incident." Weber personally visited the spectator in hospital, and offered her a complimentary season ticket for next year's event. Event managers Dr Udo Kleine and Uwe Greipel-Dominik later revealed how they felt the incident had taken place. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK 5 A joint statement said: "We suspect that the drumming against the cushions caused screws to come loose. "This should not happen, and we apologise. We will also check all other cushions and their fastenings immediately after the Zverev match. The safety of our spectators is our top priority." 'Please stay away from me' - Alexander Zverev swipes at Taylor Fritz in X-rated rant after Stuttgart Open final Following a safety check, the contest was able to continue, with world No3 Zverev winning 6-2 6-1. The 6ft 6in German will take on Italy's Lorenzo Sonego in tomorrow's round of 16. Last week Zverev reached the final of the ATP 250 event in Stuttgart, only to lose to rival Taylor Fritz. In his runner-up speech on court, spiky Zverev joked: "Last but not least, Taylor, I'm f***ing tired of you. 'I don't wanna see you again over the next two to three years. "Please stay away from me. Don't come to Germany anymore. "No, well done you deserve to win this title. "You are one of the best players in the world on this surface and you were much better than me today, so congrats to the whole team and I'm sure you are going to do incredible on the next two tournaments on grass, so well done." 5
