A man in the stands allegedly heckled Alexander Zverev with the Nazi-era German anthem
Security at the US Open tennis tournament ejected a fan on Tuesday, after German player Alexander Zverev complained to umpires about hearing “the most famous Hitler phrase there is” coming from the stands.
The incident happened during the fourth set, as the 12th-ranked Zverev was serving against Italy’s Jannik Sinner, six places above him on the ATP rankings list. The match had begun on Monday evening.
“He just said the most famous Hitler phrase there is in this world,” Zverev told chair umpire James Keothavong. “It’s not acceptable.”
Other spectators identified the offender to event security, which removed him from the Arthur Ashe stadium in New York.
“A disparaging remark was directed toward Alexander Zverev,” US Tennis Association (USTA) spokesman Chris Widmaier said in a statement after the match. “The fan was identified and escorted from the stadium.”
Zverev went on to lose that set, but eventually prevailed over Sinner to advance to the quarterfinals, where he will face defending champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain.
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