Laver Cup: Climate change protester sets his arm on fire during Stefanos Tsitsipas v Diego Schwartzman match

ByEurosport

Updated 23/09/2022 at 17:24 GMT

Stefanos Tsitsipas comfortably beat Diego Schwartzman 6-2 6-1 in the second match of the 2022 Laver Cup to put Team Europe into a commanding 2-0 lead over Team World. But at the changeover after the first set, a climate change protester sprinted on to the court before setting his arm on fire. After the fire was put out, he was removed from the court and was arrested.

A protester at the Laver Cup was promptly escorted off by security and arrested after he set his arm on fire midway through Stefanos Tsitsipas' straight sets win over Diego Schwartzman.

During the changeover at the end of the first set, which Tsitsipas comfortably won 6-2, the protester wearing a shirt which read 'End UK Private Jets' ran on to the court and set his arm alight.

After water was poured onto his arm, he was dragged off the court by security, and the mark he left on the court was cleaned up, before the match quickly resumed.

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The incident did not appear deter Tsitsipas who won the second set 6-1 to wrap up the contest in one hour and 15 minutes.

A Laver Cup statement read: “A man accessed the court this afternoon and was promptly removed by security. Play was stopped briefly, he has been arrested and the situation is being handled by the police.”

After the match, Tsitsipas - whose victory put Team Europe into a 2-0 lead - said he had not experienced anything like it.

“It came out of nowhere. I had no idea what this was all about. I’ve never had an incident like this before on court. I hope he’s alright,” Tsitsipas said.

Asked about whether his discussion with the umpire was to ensure the court was playable, the Greek replied: “Correct.

“I wanted to proceed that match without having any minor changes to the court. I wanted to make sure it was playable, especially that area. It also got in my way, the way I saw the court later, there was a big mark and I wanted it to be cleaned up.”

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Earlier on Friday, Casper Ruud beat Jack Sock 6-4 5-7 10-7 in the tournament's opening match.

A victory is worth one point on Day 1 at the Laver Cup, two points on Day 2, and three points on Day 3.

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Stream the 2022 Laver Cup exclusively live on discovery+ and eurosport.co.uk

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