Protester sets himself on FIRE in shocking incident the Laver Cup in London

A protester interrupted a match at the Laver Cup on Friday by setting himself on fire in the centre of the court.

The alarming incident occurred during Stefanos Tsitsipas' match against Diego Schwartzman at the O2 Arena in London.

The protester calmly walked onto the court and sat down before using a lighter to set his arm on fire.

He immediately screamed in agony as his arm was quickly covered in flames.

Luckily, he managed to stop the fire spreading across his body and was able to put out the fire on his arm.

Security staff quickly scrambled to remove from the man from the court and to fully extinguish the blaze, which had set fire to the playing surface.

The protester was dragged from the playing area by three security officials, to jeers from the crowd.

It is believed the man, who wearing a t-shirt with the statement "End UK private jets", was a climate change activist.

Tsitsipas was seen in conversation with the umpire as attendants poured water onto the affected area of the court.

The match later resumed, with Tsitsipas winning 6-2, 6-1.

Friday was the opening day of the Laver Cup, which runs at the O2 Arena until Sunday.

The tournament sees Team Europe take on Team World over three days and will be Roger Federer's last ATP event.

The 20-time Grand Slam singles champion announced earlier this month that he would be retiring from top level tennis after this weekend's event in London.

Federer will team up with rival Rafael Nadal on Friday night to take on American duo Francis Tiafoe and Jack Sock in a men's doubles match.

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