‘Are you insane?’ – Alexander Zverev hits out at Australian Open umpire as play is bizarrely stopped
Alexander Zverev may have sealed a spot in the Australian Open semi-final – but he was left raging at the umpire in an extraordinary moment. The German star dumped out Tommy Paul on Rod Laver Arena 7-6, 7-6, 2-6, 6-1, though a bizarre incident with a feather left him branding Nacho Forcadell as ‘insane’. Zverev was stunned when the game was paused due to a featherAFP The German star appealed to the umpire as spectators jeered and booedGetty A break down in the second set in the quarter-final, Zverev trailed 4-2, with Paul – at deuce – sending a serve down. As the duo engaged in a rally, a feather proceeded to descend towards the court just as the world number two hit a sliced backhand. Immediately afterwards, umpire Forcadell called let and ordered the point to be replayed – much to Zverev’s anger. Turning towards Forcadell, he raged: “What?! Because of what? “Because of a feather? Are you insane? Because of a feather? I mean, what is this? Oh no.” It was at that point where Zverev picked up the feather in question, as fans began to boo and jeer. Trying to explain himself over his decision, Forcadell sated: “Please, it’s just if there’s plastic or something coming in the middle of the court.” Interjecting, a riled-up Zverev responded: “Buddy, it’s a feather. “There’s millions of them on the court. There’s one there, there’s one there, there’s one there.” Speaking on Eurosport commentary, former player Chris Bradnam expressed sympathy with Forcadell over his bold call. Zverev was left shocked after the umpire immediately ordered the point to be replayedEurosport He wasn’t having Forcadell’s explanation over his decisionGetty View Tweet: https://twitter.com/hashtag/AO2025?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw He said: “An absolutely impossible situation there because he can see it. “And if Zverev misses that shot then he’s also going to be saying, ‘That distracted me.’ “So you’ve got to feel for the umpire there.” To which his co-commentator Miles Maclagan – Andy Murray’s former coach – stated: “I must say, I’ve got some sympathy with Zverev this time around. “Particularly as he was into the rally. We’ve had a feather cause a bit of drama before.” Fortunately for Zverev, the incident didn’t have an impact on his performance, as he managed to win the second set, before advancing into his third Australian Open semi-final. And you can be sure he will have more than a feather to worry about in the next round as he prepares to face the winner of the quarter-final between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
Alexander Zverev may have sealed a spot in the Australian Open semi-final – but he was left raging at the umpire in an extraordinary moment.
The German star dumped out Tommy Paul on Rod Laver Arena 7-6, 7-6, 2-6, 6-1, though a bizarre incident with a feather left him branding Nacho Forcadell as ‘insane’.
A break down in the second set in the quarter-final, Zverev trailed 4-2, with Paul – at deuce – sending a serve down.
As the duo engaged in a rally, a feather proceeded to descend towards the court just as the world number two hit a sliced backhand.
Immediately afterwards, umpire Forcadell called let and ordered the point to be replayed – much to Zverev’s anger.
Turning towards Forcadell, he raged: “What?! Because of what?
“Because of a feather? Are you insane? Because of a feather? I mean, what is this? Oh no.”
It was at that point where Zverev picked up the feather in question, as fans began to boo and jeer.
Trying to explain himself over his decision, Forcadell sated: “Please, it’s just if there’s plastic or something coming in the middle of the court.”
Interjecting, a riled-up Zverev responded: “Buddy, it’s a feather.
“There’s millions of them on the court. There’s one there, there’s one there, there’s one there.”
Speaking on Eurosport commentary, former player Chris Bradnam expressed sympathy with Forcadell over his bold call.
He said: “An absolutely impossible situation there because he can see it.
“And if Zverev misses that shot then he’s also going to be saying, ‘That distracted me.’
“So you’ve got to feel for the umpire there.”
To which his co-commentator Miles Maclagan – Andy Murray’s former coach – stated: “I must say, I’ve got some sympathy with Zverev this time around.
“Particularly as he was into the rally. We’ve had a feather cause a bit of drama before.”
Fortunately for Zverev, the incident didn’t have an impact on his performance, as he managed to win the second set, before advancing into his third Australian Open semi-final.
And you can be sure he will have more than a feather to worry about in the next round as he prepares to face the winner of the quarter-final between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
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