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0 The first US Open women’s semi-final was brought to a lengthy halt by climate protesters in the Arthur Ashe Stadium stands.
American star Coco Gauff had won the first set 6-4 and was leading 1-0 in the second against Karolina Muchova, when officials ordered play to be stopped in order to deal with a commotion.
While Gauff and Muchova were confused as to what was happening, it soon became clear a number of people wearing shirts that read “end fossil fuels” were staging a protest.
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Security personnel struggled to remove at least one of the protesters, and the crowd started chanting “kick him out, kick him out”.
It was later revealed one man had supposedly glued his feet to the stadium.
“The fan in question affixed himself to the floor and due to the nature of this action, medical professionals, NYPD and security personnel were needed in order to resolve the issue and remove the fan from the stands,” the US Open said in a statement.
Aussie great Todd Woodbridge said, ”It’s a sad situation that this should be happening at one of the biggest tennis tournaments in the United States”.
Gauff approached her team box and could be heard on the Nine broadcast asking what she should do.
Watch US Open 2023 live and free on 9Now. Alternatively, you can stream every match live, ad-free and on demand on Stan Sport, with centre court in 4K UHD
“Should I leave the court?” she asked.
“They asked if we wanted to leave the court… they said they’re on the phone negotiating, this is a hostage situation.
“They’re like ‘we’re negotiating’ – I was like why are you negotiating, he’s not a hostage.”
Muchova took the chance to leave the court and eventually Gauff followed suit, with both players forced to try to stay warm during the delay which stretched past 45 minutes.
”It’s not good for anybody at this point,” Woodbridge said after about 20 minutes of no action.
Former world No.4 Jelena Dokic questioned how Gauff and Muchova would respond to the bizarre incident.
“For a player, how do you handle this?” Dokic said on Nine.
“Gauff had the momentum.
“You can understand Coco’s anxiousness here because she has the momentum, she’s on top. Muchova will probably benefit from this more.”
When the players eventually returned to the court Muchova briefly fought back, but ultimately couldn’t do enough to beat Gauff.
The 19-year-old American won 6-4, 7-5 to reach the tournament final.
