Strange scenes in Hamburg as medical timeout called for chair umpire Lahyani after he injures his foot in Alexander Zverev-Laslo Djere final
Alexander Zverev's Hamburg European Open final was interrupted for a rare reason as chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani sought a medical timeout after injuring his foot.
Zverev, 26, was up against Laslo Djere in the summit clash on his home soil. The German beat the Serbian 7-5, 6-3 to win his first title since the 2021 ATP Finals. No. 4 seed Zverev was phenomenal in the championship match as he beat Djere in under two hours to win the ATP 500 event. The former World No. 2 did not drop a single set en route to the title in the city he was born.
During the second set of the match, the veteran chair umpire came down the ladder to inspect a ball mark and seemingly injured his right foot. However, the Swede did not interrupt the play and instead carried on with the game. But with Alexander Zverev leading the second set 4-1, Lahayni called for medical timeout for his foot.
Medical Timeout For...Mo? 🤔
#Hamburgopen pic.twitter.com/rT9hYyD8jR
Lahyani then exited the court briefly, with the physio looking after his foot. This was followed by the 57-year-old stepping onto the court again and climbing up to his seat to resume the game.
In the past, Lahyani has been involved in some iconic moments in tennis. The Swede officiated the longest match (11 hours and 5 minutes) played in the history of professional tennis — between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon 2010. In 2018, Lahyani was suspended after he left his seat and came down to encourage Nick Kyrgios, who was losing the match at that time.
"This is my home, this is where I grew up, and this where I started playing tennis" - Alexander Zverev after winning Hamburg Open
Alexander Zverev won the 20th ATP singles title of his career on Sunday. The World No. 16 has been gradually regaining his form after coming back from an ankle injury he suffered in the semifinals of the 2022 French Open against Rafael Nadal.
Zverev reached the semifinals of the 2023 French Open, losing to Casper Ruud. He also reached the semifinals of the Halle Open at the end of June. Prior to his Hamburg Open campaign, the former World No. 2 lost to Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals of the Bastad Open.
Speaking to the media after his win in Hamburg, Zverev stated that it was incredible for him to win a title on his home soil.
"At the end of the day, this is my home, this is where I grew up, and this where I started playing tennis. It was incredible for me, incredibly emotional. I can’t describe it in words, I’m just super happy right now.”
Alexander Zverev is currently at No. 10 in the ATP Live Race To Turin.