AN Australian Open tennis match was delayed after a ball kid threw up on the court.
The delay occurred during the game between Stefano Tsitsipas and Shintaro Mochizuki.
Greek player Tsitsipas had lost the opening set 6-4 before taking the second set 6-3.
But the game had to be paused near the start of the third set after a ball kid fell ill by the court.
Play was stopped after it was discovered the ball kid had thrown up near the back of the court.
Both Tsitsipas and Japanese rival Mochizuki returned to their benches while medical staff treated the ball kid.
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TNT Sports commentators in the UK were initially confused over what the delay was for.
They were heard saying on comms: “We’re delayed here, we’ll stop and wait for it to get sorted. Goodness me, everything is going on. Something in the crowd, is it?”
The broadcaster had cut away from the action while the ball kid received treatment.
Play eventually resumed following an eight-minute delay.
Earlier in the day there had been a technical fault with lighting on the court at the Rod Laver Arena as Naomi Osaka took on Antonia Zuzic.
The ball kid today is also unfortunately not the first to have fallen ill during this year’s Aussie Open.
Earlier in the week a ball girl fainted during a match between Zeynep Sonmez and Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Sonmez had sprinted over to the girl after she fell flat on her back while standing by the umpire’s chair before getting back up and being escorted over to the shaded wall by the tennis star.
The ball girl managed to get back to her feet and was helped off by medical staff with play resuming after a six-minute delay.
SunSport has approached Tennis Australia for comment.
Read the full article here
