Alexander Zverev lost to Taylor Fritz at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, and it was in part due to an injury, which he talked about after the match.
Zverev injured himself in his previous match, with his knee taking most of the damage. The injury looked really bad, but the German was able to continue playing after that and even win that match.
The former World No. 2 player was somber after the match, admitting he had pain but didn't know what was happening. He was tested before his next match, but he still opted to play against Fritz, even though the results weren't really positive.
He started well, taking a 2-0 lead, but then started running into more problems. His movement wasn't great, and he was clearly hampered by an injury, which Fritz took advantage of, winning the match in five sets.
After the match, Zverev discussed his injury, confirming that he underwent tests and highlighting the exact diagnosis.
"I know what it is because I took an X-ray yesterday. I have bone edema in my knee and I also have a laceration of the knee capsule."
The cause of the injuries was the fall in the match against Norrie. It's not a major issue and won't require surgery, but it still impacted him in the match against Fritz, mostly because of the pain. He couldn't even practice the day before but felt better on Monday.
"They were caused by the fall in the match against Norrie. It is nothing that needs surgery, it will heal on its own. But now it's pretty painful. Even though I couldn't even walk yesterday and couldn't train, I felt much better today. That's why I tried to play, I didn't want to retire."
It was an unfortunate way to end the grass-court major for Zverev because he looked solid, but that's what happens sometimes to athletes.