- A fan was ejected during Alexander Zverev's US Open match.
- The German Zverev said the fan used "the most famous Hitler phrase there is in this world."
Things got ugly in the stands at the US Open.
During the fourth set of Alexander Zverev's Round of 16 win over Jannik Sinner, a fan was ejected after being accused of referencing Hitler and singing part of a Nazi-era anthem.
As Sinner was preparing to serve, Zverev, who is German, walked over to the umpire and said a fan had "said the most famous Hitler phrase there is in this world." The umpire turned to the crowd and demanded to know who said it.
The Alexander Zverev incident late last night where a fan was accused of singing a Nazi-era anthem towards the German player. pic.twitter.com/Rpuqke1dVj
— Cork Gaines, Ph.D. (@CorkGaines) September 5, 2023
During the subsequent break, security appeared to approach a man in the stands, and eventually escort him out.
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) confirmed the ejection to the Associated Press, saying the fan was identified after using a "disparaging remark."
After the match, Zverev clarified that the fan was singing part of a Nazi-era anthem.
"He started singing the anthem of Hitler that was back in the day," Zverev told the media. "It was 'Deutschland über alles' and it was a bit too much."
The line "Deutschland über alles," which translates as "Germany above all," is a portion of an earlier German national anthem that was co-opted by Hitler and Nazi Germany. The stanza in question, which is no longer a part of Germany's anthem, included "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, über alles in der Welt" ("Germany, Germany above all — above everything in the world").
Zverev was also concerned that if he ignored the fan's taunt, it might have been interpreted as him being supportive.
"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," Zverev told the media. "So if I just don't react, I think it's bad from my side."
This wasn't the first time the song has caused controversy at a tennis tournament. In 2017, a USTA Fed Cup event in Hawai'i between the US used the Nazi-era version of the anthem before a match, the BBC reported.
At the time, per the BBC's report, Germany's Andrea Petkovic called the mistake "an absolute outrage and affront, the lowest," adding: "It was by some way the worst thing that's happened to me, especially in the Fed Cup."