Fan kicked out of US Open after shouting 'Hitler phrase' at Alexander Zverev

An audience member was removed from the US Open tennis match after 'using the most famous Hitler phrase in the world'.

German tennis player, Alexander Zverev, stepped into the court against Italy's Jannik Sinner yesterday (Monday, 4 September).

However, Sinner wasn't the only person Zverev had to battle against, with the 26-year-old complaining to chair umpire James Keothavong about someone in the stands after allegedly hearing them shout a Nazi slur in the match's fourth set.

Keothavong immediately turned round in his umpire chair to question who'd said the phrase, demanding that they raise their hand.

He also reminded those watching to be respectful to players on the court.

The fan was later identified by others sitting around him - reported by Sport Star as being a man wearing a blue baseball cap.

Zverev and Sinner's match lasted a tense four hours and 41 minutes, however, fairly early on into the play, Zverev halted the game after allegedly hearing a shout from the audience.

According to Zverev, a member of the audience shouted a 'Hitler phrase'.

Pointing into the stands behind the umpire, the tennis player told Keothavong: "He just said the most famous Hitler phrase there is in this world.

"It's unacceptable. This is unbelievable."

After the match - which saw Zverev come out victorious at the end of the nail-biting five sets - US Tennis Association spokesperson Chris Widmaier reflected on the incident.

He confirmed 'a disparaging remark' had been directed towards Zverev and the fan was 'identified' and 'escorted from the stadium'.

Zverev spoke out in more detail in his post-match interview, explaining that the audience member 'started singing the anthem of Hitler that was back in the day'.

"It was 'Deutschland über alles' and it was a bit too much," he added. "I think he was getting involved in the match for a long time, though. I don't mind it, I love when fans are loud, 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."

The tennis player resolved: "It's his loss, to be honest, to not witness the final two sets of that match."

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact Stop Hate UK by visiting their website www.stophateuk.org

Topics: Sport, US News, World News, Mental Health

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.