Alexander Zverev reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open. However, his match was temporarily interrupted.
Alexander Zverev’s round of 16 at the Australian Open was briefly interrupted on Monday due to a spectator protest. In the middle of the third set of the game, which Zverev won in five sets, a spectator in the Margaret Court Arena threw leaflets onto the tennis court. The woman apparently wanted to use her action to draw attention to the Middle East conflict; the pieces of paper said “Free Palestine”.
Two other spectators dragged the person out of the arena as no stewards intervened. The game could be continued after a few minutes. When they returned to the stadium, the two spectators received loud applause from the other visitors. There was initially no comment from the organizer about the campaign.
The terrorist organization Hamas attacked Israel at the beginning of October. Since then, the situation in the Gaza Strip has escalated. Israel defends itself against the attack, Hamas keeps hitting back.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticized Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip and its rejection of a two-state solution. Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is demanding an immediate end to gun violence from the radical Islamic Hamas. The entire region cannot live in peace “if Hamas’ terror is not stopped.” You can read more about the situation in the Middle East in our news blog.