"I never had that before... It was frustrating" - Alexander Zverev questions umpire decision to stop play in controversial Australian Open moment

Alexander Zverev secured a spot in the Australian Open semifinals with a tremendous victory over Tommy Paul in four sets. The final score was 7-6(1), 7-6(0), 2-6, 6-1 for the German, who is through to the last four for the second year.

At one point in the game, a point was interrupted due to a feather landing on the court. The umpire stopped the point, much to the frustration of Zverev, who felt like he had the upper hand. Paul got a first serve back, which he used to win the point.

Zverev was frustrated and argued with the umpire, who issued him a warning after that. Luckily for the German, it didn't impact the match too much as he could win it in four sets. Speaking after the match, Zverev talked about the moment, explaining how it looked from his point of view:

"Yeah, I never had that before, that we stopped a point because of a feather, so that was new to me. Not sure it was a hindrance to anybody. It's not like a hard object; even if a tennis ball hits a feather, it doesn't change anything. It doesn't change the trajectory of the ball or the bounce of the ball. I don't know. Maybe the umpire made the right call, maybe not. I have no idea." (6:23)

"It was a bit frustrating because I got a first serve, and he won the point with that serve, and I got a warning after that."

The game was a high-quality contest between two players playing well, but not everything went smoothly for Alexander Zverev.

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Alexander Zverev awaits semifinal opponent

While the German easily finished his quarterfinal, Alexander Zverev still doesn't know which player he will face in the semifinal. He will likely face Carlos Alcaraz, playing against Novak Djokovic in their matchup, which is yet to be completed.

Notwithstanding whether he faces Djokovic or Alcaraz, the matchup won't be easy for Zverev. He's had massive problems against Alcaraz in most of their matches and hasn't done much better against Djokovic. Still, with how he's playing, he should fancy his chances against either.