MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Alexander Zverev was left bemused after the umpire stopped play in the middle of a rally when a bird’s feather floated down on the court during his quarter-final against Tommy Paul at the Australian Open on Tuesday.
Spanish chair umpire Nacho Forcadell called a let during a deuce point when the feather from one of the seagulls that regularly flock around Melbourne Park came close to Zverev’s racket on Rod Laver Arena.
The German second seed was infuriated by the call when it happened, pointing out the “millions” of feathers on the court, but was able to see the funny side after wrapping up the match 7-6(1) 7-6(0) 2-6 6-1 to reach the semi-finals for the third time.
“Yeah, I’ve never had that before that we stop a point because of a feather. So that was new to me,” he laughed.
“Not sure it was a hindrance to anybody. It’s not like a hard object.
“Like even if the tennis ball hits the feather, it doesn’t really change anything. It doesn’t change the trajectory of the ball or the bounce of the ball or anything like that.
“But, yeah, I don’t know. Maybe the umpire did the right call and maybe not. I have no idea.”
Play was suspended at Melbourne Park in 2021 when a flock of seagulls, emboldened by the absence of spectators during the COVID-19 pandemic, started dive-bombing players as they contested the Phillip Island Trophy.
In 2002, a small bird chasing a moth across Rod Laver Arena was killed by a Michael Llodra forehand during a men’s doubles semi-final.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
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