Zverev's flight to Paris: Blitz meets machine - emergency landing in Hamburg!

Zverev's flight to Paris: Blitz meets machine - emergency landing in Hamburg!

Alexander Zverev has experienced a turbulent incident on his way to the French Open in Paris. On May 23, 2025, the tennis star started in Hamburg together with Jiri Lehecka, Brandon Nakashima and other double players at 6:45 p.m. During the flight, however, there was an unexpected lightning strike that made an emergency landing necessary. Zverev reported that this was his first experience of this kind. Despite the tense situation, he took the incident with humor because there was only a small sound and could not be felt. Eurosport reports that the plane could not fly further due to the uncertain conditions and Zverev's journey was delayed by several hours.

After the emergency landing in Hamburg, Zverev finally went on to Paris at 1:00 a.m., where he arrived at 3:00 a.m. Despite the setbacks, the 26-year-old remains optimistic about the upcoming games, because the tournament in Roland Garros is of great importance for him. Zverev found that the preparations for the clay court season had not run optimally due to an illness that was plagued by his home tournament. Sport1 supplemented that Zverev is responsible for his possibilities and hopes for his performance in Paris, especially after his defeat in the final Australian Open, where he was inferior in the third Grand Slam final.

An important competition is about

Zverev sees the first matches in a tournament as crucial and is aware of the physical requirements during the Grand Slam tournament. "Roland Garros is another tournament because it is played best-of-five," he said. The physical aspect play a much greater role, which is important for him in order to be successful.

In preparation for the tournament, Zverev had to overcome some difficulties. He won a tournament in Munich, but he lost in his dress rehearsal in Hamburg in the round of 16. This defeat also added to him because he was weakened by a stomach infection. Nevertheless, the world ranking southern is looking forward to his first match at the French Open, in which he will compete against US teenager Learner Tien on Tuesday. Zverev is confident and ready to accept the challenges of the tournament, even if the past year in which he lost the final against Carlos Alcaraz, remains in mind.