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A buzzing start to the 2022 Laver Cup experienced a shocking moment when a protestor set his arm on fire midway through a match on Friday. A man rushed onto the court at the O2 Arena in London during a changeover in the second singles match.
The match between Stefanos Tsitsipas of Team Europe and Diego Schwartzman of Team World was halted for a few minutes beyond the changeover as security personnel removed the protestor from the arena and cleared the court. Fans present at the venue and watching remotely were left stunned.
The protestor, who wore a t-shirt that read 'End UK private jets,' was a climate change activist, protesting against the use of private jets in the UK.
Tennis fans reacted to the incident and those watching had varied reactions to the same. While some fans agreed with the act and highlighted the importance of the cause the man was protesting against, others questioned the severity of the act and its timing, just hours before Roger Federer's final career match.
"Cause is a good one but it takes a special kind of stupidity to do this during Tsitsipas-Schwartzman while no one is watching, when Roger Federer's last ever match is a few hours away," one fan opined.
"There’s nothing appropriate by starting a fire inside a Stadium with thousands of fans in attendance. The tennis court is also not an appropriate setting for any intruder ever, we’ve seen the harm that can come from that unfortunately," another fan expressed.
Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans to a protestor setting his arm on fire during the 2022 Laver Cup:
Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas give Team Europe early lead at 2022 Laver Cup
Stefanos Tsitsipas was unperturbed by the shocking incident during the match and continued his momentum to register a 6-2, 6-1 win over Diego Schwartzman to give Team Europe a 2-0 lead on Day 1 of the 2022 Laver Cup. Earlier, Casper Ruud beat Jack Sock in a thriller to open Team Europe's points account, in the opening match of the three-day tournament.
Ruud won the opening set before Sock stormed back to force a match tiebreaker. Sock gave Team World a 3-0 lead in the tiebreaker before world No. 2 Ruud staged a comeback of his own to win the match 6-4, 5-7, 10-7.
The evening session on Day 1 opens with a match between Andy Murray and Alex de Minaur. The final match of the day is the most anticipated one as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will team up against Frances Tiafoe and Sock.
