Alexander Zverev reveals what 'extremely upset' Francisco Cerundolo told him before retiring from their match in Canada

Alexander Zverev has advanced to the quarterfinals at the Canadian Open after his opponent, Francisco Cerundolo, was forced to retire due to injury.

The German was leading in the match by a set and a game, but Cerundolo, suffering from abdominal pain, put a halt to the contest.

In their three previous clashes, Cerundolo was undefeated against Zverev, beating him twice in Madrid and once in Buenos Aires.

But in their first ATP meeting on hard court, the Argentine was in too much discomfort to finish the match, and exchanged words with the world number three before retiring.

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What Francisco Cerundolo told Alexander Zverev before retiring

Speaking after the match, Zverev said of Cerundolo: “He’s an incredible player, but he’s an incredible person. I have a very close and good relationship with him.

“I saw that he’s extremely upset at five-four, and of course, I know that [with] an abdominal injury, you can’t serve, you can’t really accelerate on your forehand, and there’s nothing much you can do.

“So I saw that, you know, he almost had tears in his eyes and I wanted to just talk to him and he said that the only reason he wants to keep playing is for the people.

“I told him, look, man, sometimes you’ve got to take care of yourself, because, you know, an abdominal injury can go very quickly from a few days to a few months, and I definitely don’t want to see him out for a few months.

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“I definitely want to see him on tour and do well because he’s having an incredible season. I have so much respect for him.

“He’s an incredible guy. He beat me three times before that, and I don’t have a single bad word to say about him.”

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Francisco Cerundolo apologises to fans on social media

After the walkover, Cerundolo took to social media to send a message to the fans at the Canadian Open.

He posted on his Instagram story: “I’m sorry @nbotoronto, tried my best tonight but couldn’t continue. Thanks to everyone for the support.

Cerundolo had beaten Jaume Munar and Tomas Martin Etcheverry to reach the fourth round of the tournament.

The 26-year-old was looking to make it to his eighth Masters 1000 quarterfinal, and first in Toronto.

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