ATP Finals match paused for ‘medical emergency’ as umpire takes to court | Tennis | Sport
The last round-robin match of this year’s ATP Finals was briefly halted for what was believed to be a medical emergency in the stands while Alexander Zverev was waiting to serve against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the first set. It’s an important contest, as the winner will get the final spot in the semi-finals.
But both Zverev and Auger-Aliassime were left looking confused when the umpire called for help and then came down off his chair, taking to the court and telling the players that the match had been paused.
Chair umpire Renaud Lichtenstein called time at the end of a changeover and Zverev was ready to serve at 3-4 when fans started shouting out and whistling. The umpire initially asked them to be quiet, but the No. 3 seed realised there was an issue and pointed to the stands.
Lichtenstein quickly got on his walkie-talkie, requesting medical assistance in the crowd across from where he was sitting. “Do we have a medical emergency here?” Laura Robson asked on Sky Sports commentary.
Jonathan Overend replied: “A disturbance in the stands so this could be a bit of a delay.” Zverev and Auger-Aliassime seemed confused as to what the problem was, and Lichtenstein took to the court to convene with both players.
“I’m afraid if they are right and they make some noise, I don’t know,” he told them. It took a few seconds for officials to take to the stands, and Overend questioned whether it was a medical issue.
“No sign of any sort of medical presence at up in the top tier. I think it might have just been… I don’t know what. Now there are some officials I can see coming into the stands,” the commentator said.
The umpire stood with Auger-Aliassime, looking into the crowd as personnel went to deal with the problem. And he gave them the green light to continue playing just a few seconds later, telling Zverev: “It looks okay, Alexander. It looks like they took care of it.”
The No. 3 seed was able to hold serve with ease, but things soon became difficult for both men. Auger-Aliassime had to save a break point as he moved ahead to lead 5-4. Then, he had three set points on Zverev’s serve. The German saved all three, but Auger-Aliassime kept plugging away and broke at the fourth time of asking to take the opening set 6-4.
It’s not the first time a match has been paused at this week’s ATP Finals. A group-stage tie between Lorenzo Musetti and Alex de Minaur came to a halt for almost nine minutes on Tuesday night while medical personnel took to the stands to help a spectator.
