A wrong decision by the chair umpire costs Alexander Zverev the whole set in Hamburg. The German is furious, threatens to abandon the match and still wins it in the end.
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- Alexander Zverev went into a rage during his round of 16 match against Hugo Gaston at Hamburg's Rothenbaum after the umpire made a wrong decision in his favor.
- Zverev was convinced he had fought off a set point, but the umpire gave the point to Gaston, although TV pictures showed that the ball had bounced twice beforehand.
- While Zverev argued heatedly with the umpire and supervisor, Frenchman Gaston's lack of involvement caused additional frustration for Zverev.
Alexander Zverev stood on Center Court at Hamburg's Rothenbaum and could hardly contain his anger. The German was stunned, and while he was arguing heatedly with the umpire and the supervisor, the cheerleaders entered the court as if nothing had happened. Seconds earlier, Zverev had been convinced that he had fended off a set point in the round of 16 match against Frenchman Hugo Gaston. But the chair umpire saw it differently.
What had happened? At 4:5 and set point against himself, Zverev plays a high backhand volley short cross. Hugo Gaston rushes over and returns the ball just behind the net. The German hits the ball long into the court before Gaston passes it. However, Zverev has already switched off, assuming that the ball has bounced twice after his volley. To Zverev's great surprise, the umpire gives the point to Gaston, who wins the set.
Zverev was clearly in the right
Zverev is also looking for an explanation from his opponent, but the Frenchman just stares at the Hamburg native with wide eyes and plays the innocent lamb. At times it seems as if Zverev wants to pull out of the tournament. "I'm not going to play any more. No chance," shouts the 27-year-old. There were wild scenes on the packed Center Court.
The TV footage clearly shows that the ball actually hit the red clay twice before Gaston's return. The spectacle lasted six minutes, after which Zverev had not calmed down even after talking to supervisor Hans-Jürgen Ochs, but ultimately decided to continue the match.
It was not the only controversial decision in the match, but Zverev held his nerve in the end and prevailed 4:6, 6:2, 7:5 in this thriller. The French Open finalist will now face China's Zhang Zhizhen in the quarter-finals.
