WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 Taylor Fritz found the whole thing 鈥渁nnoying鈥 when climate protesters briefly interrupted his match against Andy Murray at the DC Open tennis tournament on Friday.
Action was delayed in the first set of Fritz's 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4 victory when some jumbo tennis balls were tossed onto the court in the event's main stadium.
In the stands, some people chanted and displayed signs protesting the use of fossil fuels. About a dozen people were asked to leave the tournament and did so without incident, a spokesperson for the tournament said.
鈥淚 get they鈥檙e protesting, but there鈥檚 just got to be a better way to do it,鈥 said Fritz, a 25-year-old from California who is No. 9 in the ATP rankings and the top-seeded man at the DC Open.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 understand how people are going to get behind a cause when you鈥檙e ruining everyone else鈥檚 good time. Like, it doesn鈥檛 really make sense to me. ... It鈥檚 annoying, obviously, when they do it. It鈥檚 ruining everyone鈥檚 time. Everyone wants to watch the tennis. So I jokingly said, 鈥楬onestly, this makes me want to go fly on jets more,鈥" Fritz said with a smile. "I think, you know, they鈥檙e supporting a good cause, but the way they鈥檙e doing it, who鈥檚 going to want to listen when they鈥檙e just annoying everybody?鈥
At Wimbledon last month, three environmental activists were arrested after jumping out of the stands to disrupt matches by scattering orange confetti and puzzle pieces on the court.
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