Zverev fights on after scary fall in Rome

Alexander Zverev had an early scare Wednesday, when he took a hard tumble just two games into his quarter-final match against Taylor Fritz at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

The third seed returned a backhand at 1-1, 0/30 and started moving towards the middle of the court, but fell awkwardly on his stomach, creating an open wound on his left wrist and right pinky. Zverev received treatment from the physio before play resumed after a short delay.

It was a scary moment for the 27-year-old, who two years ago suffered a severe ankle injury at Roland Garros. A two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion, Zverev was forced to retire from his semi-final match against Rafael Nadal and did not play again the rest of the season.

The winner of Zverev and Fritz, who are competing in their eighth Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting, will face 29th seed Alejandro Tabilo in the last four at the Foro Italico.

Fritz, No. 13 in the PIF ATP Rankings, later took a spill of his own while recovering from a wide, sliding forehand at the end of the sixth game, but the American’s fall did not draw any blood.