Man interrupts Swedish Open semi to give Nazi salute
BASTAD, Sweden — A man walked on to Centre Court during a Swedish Open semifinal and shouted Nazi slogans and raised his arm in a Nazi-like salute on Saturday.
The man casually walked on to the court during the all-Spanish match between David Ferrer and Fernando Verdasco, and shouted “Heil victory” while raising his right fist. Booing from the crowd drowned out his other comments, and he was led away without fuss by police. He was wearing a black T-shirt promoting Revolution, a Nordic resistance movement.
Article continues after this advertisementTournament director Chris Hult defended the event’s security, saying the man was not considered a threat by security guards. The man was reportedly arrested for trespass.
Ferrer beat two-time runner-up Verdasco 6-1, 6-7 (3), 6-4 to reach his fourth Swedish Open final. He’ll be going for his third title at the beach resort of Bastad after wins in 2007 and 2012.
In the final on Sunday, he’ll play Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine, who beat Andrey Kuznetsov of Russia 6-3, 6-2. Dolgopolov will play for his fourth career title, and second of the year after winning in Buenos Aires in February.