Alexander Zverev's devastating announcement after French Open injury
Alexander Zverev has revealed he suffered 'several torn ligaments' in his foot in the French Open semi-final against Rafa Nadal, putting his chances of playing at Wimbledon in serious doubt.
Zverev was taken from the court in a wheelchair after rolling his ankle horribly in the second set against Nadal at Roland Garros on Friday.
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He later returned on crutches to confirm that he was retiring hurt, leaving fans and commentators devastated for the World No.3.
On Saturday, the German star took to social media to announce the severity of the injury.
The Tokyo Olympic champion revealed he tore 'several' lateral ligaments in his right foot, with a recovery in time for Wimbledon in three weeks highly unlikely.
"I am now on my way back home," he wrote in a post on Instagram.
"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.
"I want to thank everyone all over the world for the kind messages that I have received since yesterday. Your support means a lot to me right now!"
In a video message posted after the match, the German player said: "It looks like I have a very serious injury.
"A very difficult moment for me today on the court. Obviously a fantastic match until what happened, happened.
"I want to congratulate Rafa, obviously. It's an incredible achievement, a 14th final, and hopefully he can go all the way and make some more history."
With Wimbledon beginning on June 27, Zverev is long odds to play the grass-court major.
In a cruel twist of fate, he was set to be the top seed at Wimbledon despite currently sitting at World No.3.
Novak Djokovic will lose his No.1 spot when the ATP rankings are next updated and fall to at least No.3.
But with World No.2 Daniil Medvedev (soon to be No.1) banned from playing Wimbledon because of the war in Ukraine, Zverev was next in line to be the top seed.
That honour is now likely to go to Djokovic if Zverev is unable to play.
Alexander Zverev with some bad news on his Instagram account: "Based on the first medical checks, it looks like I have torn several lateral ligaments in my right foot."
He'd be the top seed at #Wimbledon, but a recovery in time for that sounds very unlikely. pic.twitter.com/TRdHS4R2qf— Gaspar Ribeiro Lança (@gasparlanca) June 4, 2022
Rafa Nadal to play Casper Ruud in French Open final
Nadal will face Casper Ruud in Sunday's French Open final with a chance to win a 14th title at Roland Garros and 22nd major overall.
"If you like what you are doing, you keep going," the Spaniard said on Saturday.
"I keep playing because I like what I do. So that's it."
Nadal reached the final on his 36th birthday on Friday and is the second-oldest man to get to the title match in Paris.
Don Budge was 37 when he was the runner-up in 1930, while the oldest champion was Andres Gimeno at 34 when he won in 1972.
"I like to play in the best stadiums of the world and feel myself, at my age, still competitive. Means a lot to me," Nadal said.
"That makes me feel in some way proud and happy about all the work that we did."
Nadal is 13-0 in French Open finals, capturing the trophy in his teens, 20s and 30s.
He also has tour highs of 66 match wins and seven titles on clay since the start of the 2020 season.
"I could probably tell you all the finals and who he has played and who he has beaten, because I watched them all on TV," Ruud said.
"I will need to play my best tennis ever. But I still have to believe that I can do it."
with AAP
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