Stadium in Cincinnati evacuated: Thunderstorm interrupts strong Zverev

Stadium in Cincinnati evacuated. Thunderstorm disrupts strong Zverev. 13.08.2025, 05:29

In the third round of the Cincinnati Masters, Alexander Zverev is playing bravely. The round of 16 is already in sight. But then a storm forces his match with Brandon Nakashima to be abandoned.

Alexander Zverev was slowed down by a thunderstorm at the Masters in Cincinnati shortly before reaching the round of 16. His third-round match against American Brandon Nakashima was initially interrupted for a second time with the score at 6-4, 5-4, with Zverev on serve, and then postponed until Wednesday (local time) after some time. The stadium was evacuated due to the risk of lightning.

At the hard-court tournament in Cincinnati, which has a total prize pool of around 9.2 million US dollars (around 7.9 million euros), the match had to be interrupted for about a quarter of an hour at the beginning of the second set due to the thunderstorm.

Should Zverev win the match outright and advance to the round of 16, he'll have a quick opportunity for revenge against Russian Karen Khachanov, against whom he lost last week in the semifinals in Toronto, having been on match point.

Zverev's courage is rewarded

Both professionals missed their first break opportunities, and Zverev even fended off three break chances in a row at 2-3 and held on to his serve. With Nakashima serving at 4-4, the American dared to approach the net for the first time in the match – and shortly thereafter found himself a break down. In contrast to his previous opportunities, Zverev played smartly and aggressively this time. The Hamburg native won the set with a bold take and an ace on his second serve.

Rain initially caused a break of about a quarter of an hour in the second set. Zverev then had to fend off another break point, but again he didn't let Nakashima get a chance and was a break ahead himself a few minutes later. He celebrated the point win with a loud scream, making it 5-4 – and was then forced to leave the court again.