Australian Open match suspended as rowdy fans cause chaos, players walk off court | Tennis | Sport

There were bizarre scenes at the Australian Open on Wednesday night when Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina were forced to leave the court their match was scheduled to take.

Auger-Aliassime, no. 29, went to Court 8 to face the Spaniard. They got just seven games into the game when play was suspended to allow them to move over to Court 7.

Disruption came from the adjacent Court 6 – dubbed the ‘party court’ due to its proximity to one of the bars – where fans became rowdy.

Auger-Aliassime and Davidovich Fokina came out on Wednesday evening for an exciting showdown in the second round. But they struggle to play through the disruption of nearby fans.

Over on the adjacent Court 6, the crowd grew louder and louder as Frenchman Arthur Cazaux took on Scotsman Jacob Fearnley. The atmosphere was like a Davis Cup match, with passionate fans from France and Great Britain vocally supporting their men.

It quickly became too much for Auger-Aliassime and Davidovich Fokina, who were forced to compete through constant noise and disruption. The referee and supervisors quickly intervened and, after playing for 42 minutes, took the unusual decision to postpone the game.

The players met at the net with the umpires when they agreed to make the change. The Spaniard packed his bags and Auger-Aliassime retired to the bench to do the same.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the match is now suspended on this pitch. We will be moving to pitch 7 in just a few minutes,” the referee announced as fans rushed out of the stands to move to the new venue.

They had already entered Court 7 when Auger-Aliassime and his opponent arrived. The players didn’t need a warm-up, they went straight in with Davidovich Fokina serving at 3-4.

There had already been four breaks of serve when the match was suspended and moved – two for each player – and Davidovich Fokina continued the trend in their new home, breaking to lead 5-4.

But he couldn’t get the job done. The Canadian broke again to level at 5-5 and eventually forced a tiebreak, taking the slide first set 7-6(7).

Meanwhile, on Court 6, the vociferous French supporters suffered disappointment as Cazaux crashed out in four sets. Fearnley silenced the crowd to win 3-6 7-5 6-2 6-3 and reach the third round of a Major for the first time in his career.

It was not surprising that the Court 6 caused such a disturbance. A new two-storey bar overlooking the course was built ahead of the 2024 Australian Open and shared the facility among players last year.

Another French player, Arthur Rinderknech, labeled the pitch a “nightclub” and slammed the fans’ behavior after losing a five-hour marathon match. “Some stupid – I won’t even say the country – guys who were drunk yelled at me every time I missed my first serve and I don’t think that’s really correct. Only in the fifth (set),” he told Fox Sports.

But tournament director Craig Tiley hit back, saying the courtyard bar provided entertainment and was “very popular”. And the tournament clearly stands by the ‘party court’, bringing it back in 2025 despite the chaos it has already caused to neighboring courts.