There was a scandal in Alexander Zverev’s round of 16 at the US Open. A spectator shouts “Germany above everything”. Zverev reports this to the referee. There are consequences for the man.
During his round of 16 at the US Open, Alexander Zverev reported a severe verbal derailment by a spectator and thus caused the person to be thrown out. In the fourth set of the game against the Italian Jannik Sinner, the viewer sang “Deutschland über alles”, said the tennis Olympic champion after the game. “He started singing the Hitler anthem. That was too much. As a German, I’m not proud of this story and it’s not good to do that,” said Zverev. “He was in the front row, so a lot of people heard it. If I hadn’t reacted, it would have been bad of me.”
The call “Deutschland über alles” can be clearly heard on recordings of the match, just before Zverev wanted to serve in the fourth set after more than three hours of play with a score of 2: 2. The Hamburger then went to referee James Keothavong, reported on the incident and pointed in the direction of the stands. “That’s unacceptable, that’s incredible,” Zverev complained. Since the abuse by the National Socialists, the first stanza (“Deutschland, Deutschland uber alles”) of the national anthem has been banned.
US Open: scandal at Zverev game
The referee had the man identified in the lower tier of Arthur Ashe Stadium during the ensuing interval, with other spectators pointing in his direction. The spectator had to leave the grandstand accompanied by security forces. A spokesman for the hosting American Tennis Association said the fan was taken out of the stadium because of a “derogatory comment” made in Zverev’s direction.
“That’s too much of a good thing. I love it when fans are active, when they’re loud. You still have to have respect,” said Zverev after the game. “He’s not a particularly smart guy. It was his loss that he didn’t live to see the last two sets.”
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Epic tennis thriller
The fact that Alexander Zverev defeated Jannik Sinner in five sets in an epic tennis thriller was almost forgotten. After the redeeming point, Alexander Zverev spread his arms, enjoyed the cheering of the fans and roared his joy in the New York night sky. In over 4:41 hours, the Olympic champion fought his way into the quarterfinals of the US Open in the muggy midnight heat. The 26-year-old prevailed 6: 4, 3: 6, 6: 2, 4: 6, 6: 3 against the slightly favored Italian Jannik Sinner and converted the match point at 1.40 a.m. Now Zverev faces an even more difficult task: In the round of the top eight there is a duel with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz from Spain.
“It’s one of the best moments of my career,” enthused Zverev. “It’s what I live for, I love it. I would have been happy if we had played a little less.” At 27 degrees at the start of the match, high humidity and stuffy air in the arena, both players fought until they dropped. Zverev cooled his head and neck with ice and changed his soaked clothes and shoes several times. At times, Sinner could barely walk, but got back up. In the end, the superior physique was the decisive factor for Zverev.
Zverev draws level with Stich
Unfazed by the incident in the middle of the fourth set, Zverev celebrated only his second victory over a player from the top ten in the world rankings in a Grand Slam on the 14th attempt. The only one of these successes before was the Hamburger against his next opponent Alcaraz at the French Open 2022. The 20-year-old Spaniard is in great form at this US Open and easily won his round of 16 6: 3, 6: 3, 6: 4 the Italian Matteo Arnaldi. For Zverev it is the tenth quarterfinal participation in a Grand Slam tournament, so he drew level with Michael Stich. Only Boris Becker (23) managed to do this more often in the professional era for men as a German tennis player.
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More than 23,000 spectators ensured a sizzling atmosphere in the world’s largest tennis stadium. “It’s great to play here and enjoy the atmosphere,” enthused Zverev just before entering the pitch. The sympathies were slightly divided in favor of Sinner. The fans saw a balanced opening phase. Both players initially looked for their best form. Zverev made the break to 3: 2, but immediately gave up his serve. The Carota Boys, a Sinner fan group in orange carrot costumes, celebrated the equalizer with loud chants in the arena’s middle tier.
In the gripping but not always high-quality opening set, seven out of ten games went beyond the debut. The ninth game alone lasted more than ten minutes. Zverev took the serve from Sinner with a strong backhand, with two aces the Hamburger got the round after 69 minutes. But the sense of achievement did not bring security at first. After a double fault, Zverev conceded the quick break. Sinner had treatment on his right leg, but initially continued to move smoothly, reducing his immense error rate and becoming more active. After an hour and a half, Zverev changed his shoes and dried the sweaty pair with paper. It didn’t help, Sinner got the set with an ace.
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suspense to the end
Despite the open roof, the climate remained oppressive – and fitness was a factor. Zverev was on the pitch for more than nine and a half hours in the previous three games, Sinner more than two hours less. But the Italian, who was four years his junior, moved more and more sluggishly, stretching the back of his left thigh again and again. After losing the serve to make it 2: 4, Sinner limped to the bank and seemed to have a cramp. Zverev sympathetically grabbed his back. The Hamburger won four games in a row, a net roller sealed the win of the third set. Both players disappeared to the toilet for a long time.
Suddenly Zverev also had problems. After rallies, the 26-year-old took a deep breath, kept grimacing and was struck. It took around 16 minutes for Zverev to break through his first service game of set four. After the fuss about the spectator being kicked out, Sinner looked fresher again, the Italian forced the decisive sentence. It stayed dramatic. Zverev stumbled, fell, but was unhurt. A little later he celebrated the 3-0 lead after a great point, the audience cheered. But Sinner remained stubborn. The resistance was only broken after more than four and a half hours, Zverev was allowed to cheer.