Novak Djokovic on course for 24th grand slam
Coco Gauff revealed she predicted a climate protest at the US Open before an eco-warrior glued his feet to the floor to cause a 49-minute delay to her semi-final. The American No.6 returned to the Arthur Ashe Stadium to beat Karolina Muchova and reach her first US Open final.
But the bizarre semi-final was overshadowed by a protest by Extinction Rebellion activists wearing End Fossil Fuels T-shirts and shouting at the start of the second set. Three protestors were led away but a bare-footed fourth remained glued to the floor high up in the stands as the capacity crowd chanted: “Kick Them Out, Kick Them Out”.
A dozen New York Police Department officers attended the scene while Gauff and Muchova left the court. When they returned, 19-year-old Gauff took her sixth match point to win 6-4 7-5 to become the youngest American to reach the final here since 17-year-old Serena Williams in 1999. She will face new world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday.
Teenager Gauff is politically aware and has publicly spoken to support the Black Lives Matter movement and stricter gun control. Coco is also a clairvoyant.
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The 2022 French Open finalist told ESPN: “The crazy thing is that this morning I told myself: ‘I bet there is going to be a climate change protest in the final’. I didn’t think it would be in the semi-final. Immediately when it happened, I told the ref it was a protest. And out of the court I was talking to Karolina and she said: ‘How did you recognise it was a protest so fast?’
“And I said: ‘I don’t know – something this morning told me that it was going to happen this weekend but I thought it was going to be in the final’. And I just treated it like a rain delay. So many times in tennis we stop. In DC people were passing out, even in Cincinnati so I just treated it like that. The only thing that was harder was that we had to leave the court. We didn’t know. The security guard said it could be five minutes or it could be an hour so we didn’t know how to warm up and prepare. I didn’t know whether to eat or not. I just treated it like a rain delay to be honest.
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“I just felt like something was going to happen this weekend because they did it at the French Open, they did it at Wimbledon. So I was like: ‘Nothing has happened at the US Open yet.’ I was thinking: ‘Well, maybe the trend will continue so that is what I was thinking about.”
An environmental activist tied and glued herself to the net on Court Philippe Chatrier at the 2022 French Open and held up the semi-final between Casper Ruud and Marin Cilic by 15 minutes. And after the Snooker World Championships and Test cricket were targeted this summer, Just Stop Oil protesters twice interrupted play by throwing orange-coloured confetti and jigsaw pieces on Court 18.
USTA chief executive Stacey Allaster said: “There’s no doubt in a 24,000-seat stadium people get ideas. We know in these large events environmental protestors use the platform. Certainly security will be resuming – along with law enforcement – to see what we can do to prevent it in the future.”
Czech No.10 seed Muchova said: “It obviously changed the rhythm a little bit and, yeah, what can we do about it? People.”
A US Open statement read: “Following the first game of the second set in the Gauff-Muchova match, play was halted due to a protest conducted by four spectators. Three of the four protesters were escorted out of the stadium without further incident. The fourth protester affixed their bare feet to the floor of the seating bowl. Due to the nature of this action, NYPD and medical personnel were needed in order to safely remove this individual from the stadium. The four protesters were taken into NYPD custody.”
In total, 49 minutes elapsed before play resumed. Sabalenka came back from losing the first set 6-0 to beat Madison Keys and will now take on another American in the final.
Gauff, who made a heart sign with her hands to the crowd at the end of the match, said in her courtside interview: “Some of those points were so loud. I don’t know if my ears are going to be ok. No – be louder. This is crazy. I grew up watching this tournament so much it means a lot to be in the final. But the job is not done. Hopefully you can back me on Saturday.”
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