Australian Open match suspended as rowdy fans cause chaos and players abandon court

A match was suspended on Court 8 so the players could pack up and move to another court

There were bizarre scenes at the Australian Open on Wednesday night as Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina were forced to abandon the court their match was scheduled on. No. 29 seed Auger-Aliassime took to Court 8 to face the Spaniard. They got just seven games into the match when play was suspended so they could move over to Court 7. There was disruption coming from the neighbouring Court 6 - labelled the 'party court' because of its proximity to one of the bars - where fans became rowdy.

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

Over on the adjacent Court 6, spectators were becoming louder and louder as Frenchman Arthur Cazaux took on Scot Jacob Fearnley. The atmosphere was just like a Davis Cup tie, with passionate fans from France and 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 umpire and supervisors soon intervened and, after playing for 42 minutes, made the unusual decision to move the match. The players convened at the net with the officials as they agreed to make the change. The Spaniard packed his bags and Auger-Aliassime retreated his bench to do the same.

Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina were forced to switch courts

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"Ladies and gentlemen, the match is now suspended on this court. We move to Court 7 in just a few minutes," the umpire announced as fans rushed out of the stands to move to the new venue. They had already made their way into Court 7 by the time Auger-Aliassime and his opponent arrived. The players didn't need a warm-up, going straight in with Davidovich Fokina serving at 3-4. There had already been four breaks of serve by the time 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 the score at 5-5 and eventually forced a tiebreak, taking the rollercoaster first set 7-6(7).

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