"Me being German and not really proud of that history, not a great thing to do" - Alexander Zverev clarifies US Open fan sang 'Hitler anthem' at him

Alexander Zverev has disclosed that a fan got kicked out of the stadium during his match at the US Open as he started singing a 'Hitler anthem' at him.

On Monday, September 4, Zverev took on Jannik Sinner in a fourth-round clash at the New York Major. The 12th seed came through a grueling four-hour and 41-minute clash with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win and book his place in the quarterfinals.

With the match finishing at 1:39 a.m. local time on Tuesday morning, it went down as both the longest match and the latest finish at the 2023 US Open.

The contest, however, had one sour spot after a fan said something derogatory at Zverev in the middle of the third set. The German stopped play and complained to the chair umpire James Keothavong, after which security was dispatched to catch the culprit and kick him out of the stadium.

United States Tennis Association spokesman Chris Widmaier confirmed the same in a statement later.

"A disparaging remark was directed toward Alexander Zverev. The fan was identified and escorted from the stadium," he said.

Zverev has now clarified what the fan said to make him pause the nail-biting contest and have him kicked out.

"He started singing the anthem of Hitler that was back in the day. It was 'Deutschland über alles' and it was a bit too much," he said. (via tennis.com)

"I think he was getting involved in the match for a long time, though. I don't mind it. I love when fans are loud. I love when fans are emotional. But I think me being German and not really proud of that history, it's not really a great thing to do, and I think him sitting in one of the front rows, I think a lot of people heard it. So if I just don't react, I think it's bad from my side," he added.

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"I’m here to play, that’s what I love doing" - Alexander Zverev looks forward to facing Carlos Alcaraz in US 2023 QFs

Alexander Zverev at the 2023 US Open.

If there were ever any doubts about Alexander Zverev's fitness to make a deep run at the US Open, he brushed them aside in his near five-hour win against Jannik Sinner.

The German registered 56 winners to 46 errors, won a total of 166 points, and was even kind enough to check on the Italian after he suffered cramps in both legs mid-way through the contest.

Next up for Zverev is a mouth-watering quarterfinal clash with World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz. When asked for his thoughts on facing the defending champion, the 26-year-old said in his on-court interview:

"I’m here to play. That’s what I love doing. I don’t know how it will end up but I’ll give it my absolute best, like I always do, I will fight until the last moment. Of course I have to recover after this physical match, but I’ll be ready."

He added:

"I think everybody, before the tournament, was looking for two matchups: Alcaraz-Novak in the final, and Alcaraz-Sinner in the quarterfinals. So maybe I can make sure that both of those don't happen. It's obviously going to be one of the toughest matches for me."

Zverev leads Alcaraz 3-2 in the head-to-head. The winner of their last eight clash will face either Daniil Medvedev or Andrey Rublev in the US Open semifinals.