Fan Is Ejected From Grounds After Taunting Graf Again

A fan taunting Steffi Graf during her first-round Wimbledon match Tuesday was removed from his seat at Centre Court and ejected from the grounds.

The male fan, who also taunted Graf at the French Open, interrupted her straight-set victory over Kirrily Sharpe at Wimbledon by yelling at her. He was identified by authorities as Kurt Zumselede, 29, of Frankfurt, but they did not offer a motive for his actions or indicate whether he was armed.

According to German reporters, the fan told Graf she was faking the foot injury she had talked about before Wimbledon.

Graf asked chair umpire Jane Tabor to quiet the fan, who was sitting in the first row. According to a statement by the All England Club, the fan cooperated when asked to leave. He will not be allowed on the grounds for the rest of the tournament, the statement said.

Graf was reluctant to talk about the incident.

“(He) happened to be in Paris, too, and he’s a German guy, obviously, because he’s been speaking in German,” Graf said. “He’s been disturbing me a little bit, and he was there again in the front row today.” When Graf saw the man, German reporters said she said in German: “Oh, my God, not him again.”

In Paris, the fan taunted Graf, saying she was to blame for the incident in Hamburg in which Monica Seles was stabbed in the back, according to German reporters. Graf, who defeated Sharpe, 6-0, 6-0, in 39 minutes, downplayed Tuesday’s incident.

“I mean there’s nothing I can do about it, and I don’t really think too much about it, either,” she said. “I mean I was surprised he was there again today, but, no, I don’t take it too seriously.”