Several people shouted and disrupted the game, and one of them stuck his feet to the floor of the stands. Unimpressed, 19-year-old Gauff reached the US Open final for the first time. When the score was 1-0 for Gauff in the second set, environmental activists shouted slogans in the upper tier of Arthur Ashe Stadium. Pictures showed them wearing t-shirts that said “End Fossil Fuels” and the group “Extinction Rebellion.”
“We don’t want to harm the athletes. We have nothing against the sport,” one of the activists told the AP news agency. In his view, the US Open has sponsorship deals with companies that contribute to global warming. They want to “draw attention to the problem that there will be no more tennis for anyone in the world to enjoy”.
AP/Frank Franklin II Some environmental activists protested the US Open sponsorship deals
Environmental protest causes “problem in the spectator area”
According to the organizers, three people were initially taken away in a statement. “When security arrived, one person was taped to the ground with bare feet,” tournament director Stacey Allaster said, explaining the lengthy suspension. The police and medical staff were needed to remove the person from the stadium, it said. The man was taken away in handcuffs. All four people were in police custody, according to organizers.
In the meantime there had been an announcement in the stadium that “a problem in the spectator area” would be solved. Gauff first practiced a few serves, Muchova was treated. Both players then went into the catacombs of the arena. Numerous spectators chanted in the direction of the protesters: “Throw them out”. After almost 45 minutes, the players came back on the pitch to the cheers of the spectators and then continued the game.
“I treated it like a rain break. We have so many interruptions in tennis,” Gauff said coolly afterwards. It was only difficult because the length of the forced break could not be foreseen. She was not angry with the activists, she said. “I always talk about promoting something. Promote what you feel and believe in. It was done in a peaceful way, so I can’t be too mad about it.” She herself believes in climate change. “I think we can do something better. I know that tournaments do something for the environment.”
Gauff uses the sixth match point
In what ended up being a high-class game, Gauff used her sixth match point after more than two hours. She had already earned her first match point when the score was 5:3 in the second set. Muchova fended off a total of five chances for the crowd favorite to win, some of them spectacularly – until the American was allowed to celebrate.
“It was so loud at some points, I don’t know if my ears are okay,” joked Gauff. “That’s crazy. I watched the tournament growing up so it means a lot to me. I hope you will come back and support me on Saturday.”
Sabalenka celebrates prematurely
Then Sabalenka is waiting, who will replace the Polish Iga Swiatek at the top of the WTA world rankings after the US Open. The 25-year-old prevailed against Keys with 0: 6 7: 6 (7/1) 7: 6 (10/5). Sabalenka, who reached the semi-finals in New York for the last two years, showed nerves of steel after a major false start and took the serve from Keys in the second set at a score of 4:5 when her opponent served to win the match.
Reuters/USA Today Sports/Robert Deutsch Arina Sabalenka showed a comeback after a false start in the semifinals
In the two tie-breaks, Sabalenka proved her class and didn’t give the American the slightest chance. In the tie-break of the third set, however, Sabalenka celebrated prematurely. After the 7/3, she dropped the bat for joy, but soon realized that the tie-break was played to ten points in the decisive round. A little later, however, the victory was fixed. “I thought we were going to play until seven. It was crazy,” she said. The reigning Australian Open winner is reaching for her second Grand Slam title on Saturday.
US Open Women’s Singles in New York
(USA, $65 million, hard)
Semifinal: Coco Gauff (USA/6) Karolina Muchova (CZE/10) 6:4 7:5 Arina Sabalenka (BLR/2) Madison Keys (USA/17) 0:6 7:6 (7/1) 7:6 (10/5) ViertelFinal-Table: Coco Gauff (USA/6) Jelena Ostapenko (LAT/20) 6:0 6:2 Karolina Muchova (CZE/10) Sorana Cirstea (ROU/30) 6:0 6:3 Madison Keys (USA/17) Marketa Vondrousova (CZE/9) 6:1 6:4 Arina Sabalenka (BLR/2) Zheng Qinwen (CHN/23) 6:1 6:4 Iga Swiatek (POL/1) 3:6 6:3 6:1 Coco Gauff (USA/6) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 6:3 3:6 6:1 Sorana Cirstea (ROU/30) Belinda Bencic (SUI/15). ) 6:3 6:3 Karolina Muchova (CZE/10) Wang Xinyu (CHN) 6:3 5:7 6:1 Marketa Vondrousova (CZE/9) Peyton Stearns (USA) 6:7 (3/7) 6:3. 3 6:2 Madison Keys (USA/17) Jessica Pegula (USA/3) 6:1 6:3 Zheng Qinwen (CHN/23) Ons Jabeur (TUN/5) 6:2 6:4 Arina Sabalenka (BLR/2). ) Daria Kasatkina (RUS/13) 6:1 6:3