Malmo, Sweden/Tel Aviv  - Israeli tennis player Andy Ram has described the protests against his country at the Davis Cup in Sweden as a "sad moment for tennis, sport and for Israel," in an article published by Israel's daily Yediot Achronot on Sunday.

Ram wrote that he had never encountered such hatred and mixing of sport and politics in his entire sporting career.

"These events have changed my view of Sweden completely and I doubt whether I even want to return here," he said.

Sweden and Israel played behind closed doors with hundreds of anti-Israeli protests outside the stadium due to security concerns in Malmo.

The protests that were directed against the recent Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip began Friday.

Some protestors wanted to storm the court and clashed with police outside the venue on Saturday.

A "war-like atmosphere" prevailed in Malmo, Ram wrote Sunday, adding that what should have been a "beautiful moment" in sport, was lost.

After three of the five rubbers, Sweden is leading the best-of- five match 2-1, with the reverse singles scheduled for Sunday afternoon. dpa