The incident happened during the match between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Diego Schwarzman on the first day of the games. Tsitsipas closed out the first set 6-2 and during the change, a man ran onto the court and lit a fire, which briefly set his hand on fire. The man was wearing a T-shirt that read: ‘End UK Private Jets’ and was quickly pulled out of the court after the fire was put out. Image: The protester was quickly removed by security before the fight resumed A quick check of the surface was carried out to ensure it had not been damaged during the freak incident, before the match could resume after a short delay. He failed to take out world No. 6 Tsitsipas with the second set closing quickly to beat Schwartzman 6-2, 6-1 and put Team Europe 2-0 up at the end of the afternoon session, but the Greek athlete admitted that he left. He and everyone inside the O2 were shocked. Image: Stefanos Tsitsipas won in straight sets against Diego Schwarzman “It came out of nowhere. I have no idea what it’s about. There’s never been an incident like that on the court. I hope it’s OK,” explained Tsitsipas, having spoken to the umpire before his singles clash resumed. “I wanted to continue the match without making minor changes to the pitch and make sure it was playable, especially in that area. It also got in the way of my viewing experience as I saw the pitch later. There was a big sign there and I just wanted to make it clear.” Swiss great Roger Federer is set to take to the court later in the day for the final match of his career, with the 41-year-old teaming up with arch-rival Rafael Nadal to take on American duo Sock and Francis Tiafoe. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray were back on court in a practice session ahead of the Laver Cup.
Federer farewell protest “take shine off”.
Sky Sports’ Jacquie Beltrao, at the O2 during the incident, said: “If you’ve ever been to the O2, the pitch is very lit and the crowd very dark, so the players wouldn’t have been able to see him coming. “He was wearing a T-shirt that said ‘End UK private jets’ and of course all these players arrived at the Laver Cup on a private jet, including Roger Federer, whose last match is tonight. That will certainly take a shine off the occasion.”