Australian Open Marred by Violence

The decorum that is usually associated with the game of tennis has been shattered at the Australian Open yet again by rival Serbian and Bosnian fans fighting and throwing missiles and chairs at each other. The fans were at the match to watch play between the defending tennis champion, Serbian Novak Djokovic and Bosnian born Amer Delic who plays for the United States when the violence broke out. One woman was knocked unconscious in the fracas that took place outside the centre court, after being hit on the head by one of the plastic chairs that were being used as missiles; luckily no serious injuries were caused. The police quickly took control of the situation ejecting 30 people from the grounds for violence and arresting two men for ‘riotous behaviour’.

Amer Delic went on to win but his moment of glory has unfortunately been overshadowed by the appalling violence of the Serbian and Bosnian fans. Delic had already asked his Bosnian fans to curb any acts of violence on his website prior to the Australian Open grand slam match.

If the Serbian and Bosnian violence was not enough to contend with, there was further problems in a day of embarrassment for Australian Open officials. A male streaker managed to invade the tennis court where Venus and Serena Williams were playing a doubles match against Ayumi Morita from Japan and the German, Martina Muller. The streaker was only on court for a short period of time, much to the amusement of the Williams sisters. Australian Open officials stated that he posed no threat to the safety of the players; the man was later arrested and banned from attending the event. Venus Williams is now out of the Australian Open after only two matches on losing her match against the Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro. Serena Williams won her match against Gisela Dulko from Argentina and now moves on to the third round of the Australian Open.