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Monday night’s match between Alexander Zverev and Jannik Sinner inside of Arthur Ashe Stadium during the Round of 16 of the US Open was a five-set thriller that spilled into the early hours of the morning.
Zverev was able to outlast his opponent — 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 — but there was one moment during the match that was “unacceptable.”
In the fourth set, Zverev had the serve when he halted play and approached the umpire. The umpire thought that Zverev was going to complain about a fan shouting before his serve, but instead, Zverev, who is German, called out the fan for using “the most famous Hitler phrase.”
The fan shouted “Deutschland über alles” which is associated with the Hitler regime and part of the anthem used by Nazis.
Alexander Zverev entend un encouragement néo-nazi et va immédiatement alerter l'arbitre : "Il vient juste de dire la phrase d'Hitler la plus célèbre. Ce n'est pas acceptable. Incroyable."
La personne sera dégagée du court. Bravo. 👏pic.twitter.com/lqhd3KXCF8
— Tennis Legend (@TennisLegende) September 5, 2023
After a few minutes, the fan who shouted the phrase was identified and escorted out of the stadium.
As the fan was leaving, the crowd roared in applause.
Security was looking for a fan who yelled during the Jannik Sinner & Alexander Zverev match.
Zverev said he yelled "the most famous Hitler phrase.”
Security looked for the person for at least 10 minutes.
They escorted a fan out & the crowd cheered as they left. pic.twitter.com/QDClUPqPwu
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 5, 2023
After the match, Zverev spoke on the incident and explained why he felt the need to stop play and call the fan out.
“I love when fans are loud,” said Zverev. “I love when fans are emotional. But I think me being German and not really proud of that history, it’s not really a great thing to do, and I think him sitting in one of the front rows, I think a lot of people heard it. So if I just don’t react, I think it’s bad from my side.”
I asked Alexander Zverev what that fan said.
"He started signing the anthem of Hitler, back in the day. It was a bit too much. I think he was getting involved in the match too much. Me being German & not really proud of that history, it's not really a great thing to do." #usopen pic.twitter.com/HIwkAhdLSg
— Andrew Jerell Jones, Luke 1:37 (IG:twdbk3) (@sluggahjells) September 5, 2023
With the win, Zverev secured his spot in the quarterfinals where he will face No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz. The match is set to take place on Wednesday, September 5.