Carlos Alcaraz's Cincinnati Open match halted for medical emergency as umpire rushes over

Carlos Alcaraz's Cincinnati Open quarter-final match against Andrey Rublev was halted for an emergency in the stands. The Spaniard held to lead 1-0 in the deciding set when chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani realised someone in the crowd was struggling, and raced over to bring them water and an umbrella.

It's been brutally hot in Cincinnati over the last week. World No. 28 Felix Auger-Aliassime urged fans to stay safe in the sun after his opponent, Arthur Rinderknech, collapsed on court and soon retired from their match.

Alcaraz and Rublev were changing ends after the first game of set three when the umpire called for first aid in the stands. He got off his chair and asked for supplies, rushing over to help.

Sky Sports commentator and former ATP star Ryan Harrison said: "I think something happened in the crowd, someone might have had some [issues with] the heat. "

Lahyani was quick to respond. "Some water please. Get an ice towel as well, get an ice towel," he told some ball boys before sprinting over to the stands and passing the items across. "Here's some water."

The umpire then told both Alcaraz and Rublev to be patient while they waited for the spectator to be attended to.

"Mohamed Lahyani to the rescue. Brutal conditions here in Cincinnati all week, temperatures well into the 30s, incredibly humid as well, so it's not just the players who are suffering, it's the fans as well," co-commentator Adam Fielder said.

"When incidents like this happen, you're never quite sure how long the delay is going to be so Mohamed Lahyani just telling Carlos Alcaraz to have a little patience and bear with him. Mohamed is a bit out of breath after that sprint over there!"

Harrison replied: "I haven't seen Mohamed move quite that well in a long time but we obviously hope the fan in the crowd is okay.

"It's tough when you're sitting there in the bleachers, I can tell you, after being in the coach's box and also on the court, you feel that heat when you're in the coach's corner and you're just sitting there and you're just watching the match.

"Especially on that side of the court where there's no shade and you can tell the sun is coming from the opposite side, that side is very exposed to the sun."

Lahyani raced over again, this time with an umbrella, before returning to the court and convening with the tour supervisor. "Mohamed is putting out fires left, right and centre here," Fielder joked.

"I'm sure paramedics are out there just trying to deal with this incident in the crowd. I think maybe by the applause it looks as though the paramedics might be taking him or her out the court. For the players as well, they've just got to kind of stand and wait, and they lose a little bit of rhythm."

The delay continued for a few more minutes, and there was another round of applause, indicating that the fan had safely left the court. The umpire gathered the players and play quickly resumed with Rublev serving.

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