Tennis
The Russian tennis player froze on the court when he heard Hitler’s phrase. The provocateur was thrown out of the stands
Alexander Zverev / Photo: © Al Bello / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru
Alexander Zverev was insulted by an American. Even the security service had to deal with it.
The final Grand Slam tournament of this season is entering the finish line. On the eve of the men held matches 1/8 finals.
The brightest game pleased Sinner and Zverev, but this match will be remembered not only for a five-hour thriller. In the midst of the struggle, the German tennis player had to stop the game.
Fascist cries of the audience shocked everyone present.
“This is unacceptable!”
Like two years ago, fate again brought Yannick Sinner and Alexander Zverev together in the fourth round of the US Open. The more experienced German had an advantage in personal meetings (3-1), but despite this, many gave preference to the Italian.
Sinner, 22, recently reached the first semi-final at the Major (Wimbledon 2023), settled in the top 10 of the ATP rankings (6th) and seems to keep moving forward. It cannot be said that Zverev looked worse than Sinner this year, but the German definitely looked worse than his best example.
However, in the final match on Monday on center court named after Robert Ashe, both players gave their maximum. The first set was left for the 26-year-old German (6:4), then Sinner equalized the score (3:6), but again allowed the opponent to take the lead in the sets, losing the third segment with a score of 2:6.
In the midst of the fourth set, with the score 2:2, Zverev suddenly froze on his serve and turned with a sharp remark to the judge:
– This is unacceptable! He just uttered Hitler’s most famous phrase, – moving to the referee’s tower, the 12th racket of the world explained.
It turned out that one of the spectators, who were behind Judge James Keotavong, allowed himself a fascist remark. The reaction of Zverev, representing Germany, was quite understandable. Although Sasha was born in Hamburg, his Russian origin is no secret to anyone. His father, Alexander Zverev Sr., represented the USSR, and his older brother Mikhail was born in Moscow.
“One of the best moments of my career”
Alexander stood on the edge of the court. The spectators, the referee and the security service understood that they had to act. Someone on the podium began to rise and point with his hands at the culprit, but at first it was not possible to expel the villain.
After thinking about the situation for a few minutes, Sinner’s opponent still continued the game. True, the concentration was lost. Zverev lost the set (4:6), and the match went into the decisive game.
At the key moment of the game, psychology came to the fore, not physical condition. Although Sinner had cramps in his legs, Zverev admitted after the match that he did not understand how to continue the fight in the fourth set. Nevertheless, the more experienced German turned out to be stronger and closed this five-hour meeting.
– Of course, I would like to play faster. But when I couldn’t play here last year, I just missed this – playing until half past one in the morning in front of a packed stadium (Zverev missed the US Open-2022 due to injury. – Approx. Sportbox). I don’t know how I managed to win. In the fourth set, I was at zero, I had absolutely no strength left. Although Yannick had convulsions, his physical condition was better. But in the fifth set, I recovered. Without the energy of the fans, this would not have been possible. And I can honestly say that this is one of the best moments in my career, said the German after the victory.
By this time, the security service still kicked out a fan from the stands, who allowed himself a rude shout at Zverev. The whole process was accompanied by a buzz and approving gestures from the crowded stands. The people supported this act of justice.
In the quarterfinals, Zverev will play with the leader of the rating Carlos Alcaras. So far, the statistics of personal meetings are on the side of the German (3-2), but their last match ended in a crushing victory for the Spaniard on Madrid soil in early May.
Source: Sportbox
I am a sports journalist who has written for a number of Sportish. I have a background in journalism and have been writing since I was young. My main focus is sports news, but I also write about general news. I am currently working as an author at Sportish.