A tennis umpire was forced to intervene to cool things down between Alexander ‘Sascha’ Zverev and Arthur Fils as the Hamburg Open final got heated.
Fils nabbed his first ATP 500 title after a nail-biting third-set tiebreak, concluding a gruelling three-hour and 31-minute battle. The drama unfolded in the final set when Fils let rip a verbal onslaught at Zverev during a pause in the action.
This followed an underarm serve from the Frenchman that was initially called good but later ruled out after a second look. The spectators weren’t happy about Fils’ underhand serving strategy, responding with cheers on his service faults, and Zverev wasn’t pleased either.
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The tension escalated into a fiery exchange, prompting the umpire to step in at the side of the court to defuse the situation. A tense third-set tiebreak was the decider, with Fils keeping his cool to triumph over Zverer and clinch his maiden Hamburg Open victory.
Post-match, Fils justified his underarm serves, citing cramps as the reason: “I’m really happy about how I played,” Fils beamed. “I did everything for winning this match. I got cramps, when I was serving I was cramping.
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“I was trying underarm serves because I cannot serve. The crowd took it badly but I don’t care, I’m winning and that’s it.”, reports the Express.
He hailed his rival as a “great champion” after a nail-biting match. The victor gushed: “Sascha [Zverev] is such a great champion. He’s such a great champion playing unbelievable tennis. I knew from the start that it wasn’t going to be easy.
“I was taking care of it in the first set. I had a bit of luck but I was playing great, then he managed to play better and raise his level in the second set.”
The winner also admitted the intensity of the match escalated. He said: “When they closed the roof I knew it was going to be a dogfight. I just had to fight until the last ball. I’ve been practicing for a long time for these moments, so I’m really happy.”
Despite a chilly exchange at the net post-match, Zverev showed sportsmanship, praising his opponent. He said: “Arthur and your team, well done. He added: “Great week and you deserve your title. Enjoy the moment.”