Coco Gauff is through to her first US Open final, but only after her last-four match against Karolina Muchova was suspended for more than 45 minutes when a protester glued his feet to the floor in the stands.
American teenager Gauff’s 6-4 7-5 victory was overshadowed by a small group of spectators wearing T-shirts bearing the words ‘end fossil fuels’ who began shouting, forcing play to be stopped.
Gauff and Czech 10th seed Muchova initially stayed on the court for about 10 minutes while security tried to deal with the situation.
The Arthur Ashe crowd at one point began chanting “kick them out” with the protesters apparently being difficult to shift despite being surrounded by around 12 police officers.
It soon became apparent that while three of the protesters had been removed, a fourth had glued his bare feet to the concrete.
“Are they like talking to them or are they going to remove them?” Gauff asked chair umpire Alison Hughes and tournament referee Jake Garner.
She then spoke to her coach, Brad Gilbert, saying “they say they are negotiating, like it’s a hostage situation. What should I do?”
Gilbert was then heard to shout at Garner: “This is a joke, Jake.”
Both players eventually left the court with Gauff leading 6-4 1-0. They returned at 8.50pm when the third protester had finally been removed, and after a warm-up, play resumed 50 minutes after the last point.
Speaking to ESPN, tournament director Stacey Allaster said: “As we witnessed we had environment protesters up in the loge area.
“There were three. Two were removed. They quietly left. When security got there they found one of the protesters had physically glued himself, his bare feet, to the cement floor.”
A statement from the USTA 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.”
It is not the first time a major tennis tournament has been disrupted by protesters.
At Wimbledon this year Just Stop Oil activists caused two matches, one involving Britain’s Katie Boulter, to be suspended after running onto the court throwing jigsaw pieces and confetti.
Last year’s French Open semi-final between Casper Ruud and Marin Cilic also had to be halted after a woman tied herself to the net.
Both players at least seemed to be able to put the incident behind them when the match resumed.
Muchova had treatment on what appeared to be an abdominal injury during the stoppage.
The Czech 10th seed saved a match point on the Gauff serve and five more on her own in the next game.
But the 19-year-old converted at the sixth attempt when Muchova went long to reach her second grand slam final.
“Thank you guys this is crazy,” she told the crowd. “I grew up watching this tournament so it means a lot to be in the final.”
ATP Finals: Comeback win keeps Fritz in semi-final contention
Taylor Fritz has put himself in a strong position to make it to the ATP Finals semis after a comeback win against Alex de Minaur.
Fritz rallied in three sets to triumph 5-7 6-4 6-3 in just over two hours, sealing De Minaur's fate, as he crashed out having failed to win a match.
The Australian made a strong start as he attempted to overturn the odds to reach the semi-finals in his maiden tournament and took control with a break late on, winning the final three games of the first set to take an early advantage.
Fritz fought back, protecting his serve in the opening game before finding his edge late on, and though De Minaur valiantly defended two set points, he could not prevent a decider.
The American eased into cruise control after that, taking a 4-1 lead with a three-game winning streak, from which he did not look back.
"Even though I won the match I feel like there wasn't necessarily any moments when I changed too much," Fritz said.
"He was all over me when I did a great job, but towards the end of the second set, I began to find my serve and I started serving much better.
"When I wasn't creating the first serves, he was just killing me from the baseline. It just gave me a little bit of comfort to just stay in the match and not be under so much pressure all the time. It was still incredibly tough."
His attention now turns to the late match in the Ilie Nastase Group between Jannik Sinner, who has already progressed to the final four, and Daniil Medvedev. The Russian must win in straight sets to progress, but if he drops a set or loses, Fritz will advance along with the world number one.
Data Debrief: On the brink
Any further involvement at the ATP Finals for Fritz may hinge on favours from elsewhere, but he worked hard on Thursday to put himself within touching distance of the semi-finals for the second time.
He struggled against the big serves of De Minaur, whose aggressive approach saw him outhit Fritz with 12 winners to seven, though he could not translate it into a win.
It means that Fritz (nine) is the first American player to register 9+ wins against top-10 opponents in a single season since Pete Sampras (10) and Andre Agassi (12) in 1999.
ATP Finals: Zverev targets 10 more years at the top after Ruud win
Alexander Zverev outlined his plan to stay at the top of the game for another decade after overcoming Casper Ruud in his second match at the ATP Finals.
Having started his campaign at the season finale in Turin by downing Andrey Rublev, Zverev made it two wins from as many matches with a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 victory over the Norwegian.
He needed just 86 minutes to wrap up his victory, hitting 28 winners to his opponent's 13 in a confident, powerful performance.
Zverev is appearing at the ATP Finals for a seventh time, and another victory over Carlos Alcaraz on Friday would secure his spot in the semi-finals.
The German has won the event on two previous occasions, beating Novak Djokovic in the 2018 showpiece and overcoming Daniil Medvedev in 2021.
Asked what his experience at the ATP Finals meant for his chances of success, he joked: "It means I'm old! But I still don’t feel old.
"I hope I have another solid 10 years ahead of me, but I think it’s a young group of guys.
"There has been kind of a shift in tennis this year and I think it's a good thing. They're exciting new players and everybody loves watching them."
Data Debrief: ATP Finals specialist marches on
Since the ATP Finals moved to Turin for the 2021 event, Zverev's eight victories at the competition have only been bettered by Djokovic's 12.
Meanwhile, the German has also managed more ATP Tour-level wins this year than any other player, with Wednesday's success his 68th of 2024.
ATP Finals: Alcaraz 'surprised' himself with battling Rublev victory
Carlos Alcaraz surprised himself with the level of performance he was able to produce in his win over Andrey Rublev at the ATP Finals on Tuesday.
Alcaraz emerged a 6-3 7-6 (10-8) victor against the Russian in his second match of the tournament, keeping his hopes of advancing to the next round in Turin alive.
The Spaniard fell to defeat in his opening game against Casper Ruud, citing a stomach issue that left him feeling unwell before and during that match.
But the world number three looked back to his brilliant best against Rublev, claiming the first set in 37 minutes before edging a thrilling tie-break in the second.
"Yes, I surprised myself a lot," Alcaraz said shortly after the victory.
"The way I played today from the baseline, I was really calm and tried to just focus on my game and what I had to do - forget that I'm not really feeling well.
"Once you step on the court, you have to forget everything you're struggling with outside the court."
Alcaraz, though, said he was still not feeling 100% ahead of facing Alexander Zverev, who is in action against Ruud later on Tuesday.
It will be the pair's first meeting since the Spaniard's triumph in the French Open final in June, but Zverev has not let that defeat ruin a fine season.
His own opening win over Rublev was his ATP Tour-leading 67th win of the campaign, with only Jannik Sinner matching the German for victories this year.
"I could be better, healthier. I'm just trying to step on the court and play good tennis, try not to think about my issues right now," Alcaraz said.
"I've been struggling the last week and that's going to be the case over the next day too, for sure.
"Zverev is playing great tennis. He is one of the toughest players in the world right now, that's for sure.
"I will try to play good tennis and enjoy the same way I did today. Then let's see."
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