Picture Credit: Twitter
German tennis star Alexander Zverev has revealed that he has suffered torn ligaments after rolling on his ankle as he was forced to retire from his French Open semi-final against 13-time champion Rafael Nadal on Friday. Zverev posted an update on his Instagram and said,
"I am now on my way back home. Based on the first medical checks, it looks like I have torn several lateral ligaments in my right foot. I will be flying to Germany on Monday to make further examinations and to determine the best and quickest way for me to recover."
After the match, world number three had talked about his injury through a video posted on French Open’s Twitter account. He said, “Very difficult moment for me today on the court, obviously a fantastic match until what happened. Looks like I have a very serious injury, but the medical team and the doctors are still checking on it and we’ll keep you updated, we’ll let you know as soon as we know more.”
He also congratulated Nadal for win and wished that he wins the tournament. “I want to congratulate Rafa,” said Zverev. “It’s incredible to see him in a 14th final and hopefully he can go all the way and make some more history.”
"I wish him all the best and a very fast recovery," Nadal
His semi-finals opponent, Rafael Nadal also wished Zverev a speedy recovery as he 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. 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.” he continued.
"If you are human, you feel sorry for a colleague. It's not easy to talk about. I hope that he's not too badly injured, I hope it's not broken," said Nadal. "I was with him when he was having the ultrasound. It was an accident, it was just an unlucky moment", he concluded.