A tennis fan wearing a Scotland shirt was kicked out of the John Cain Arena at the Australian Open match while supporting Britain’s Jacob Fearnley in Melbourne.
Fearnley is making waves Down Under for his surprise journey to the third round in Australia, having knocked out Nick Kyrgios in the first round.
Fearnley dumped out the home favourite Kyrgios, who was making his first competitive appearance in nearly two years, after beating the Wimbledon 2022 finalist 7-6 (3), 6-3, 7-6 (2) on his debut Grand Slam appearance.
Having been drawn to face Arthur Cazaux in the second round, the Briton continued to march on with a four-set victory, recovering from a set down to beat the Frenchman 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-3.
Speaking after sealing another win on his whirlwind adventure at Melbourne Park, the 23-year-old admitted he found the atmosphere daunting – except for one fan who was ejected from the stadium by security staff.
“It was a crazy atmosphere,” Fearnley said. “I actually didn’t really look at the court before I went on, so when I saw the bar, I was thinking it’s going to be a pretty rowdy atmosphere.
“Obviously there were some supporters who were extremely drunk, but it was a great atmosphere.
“One fan in a Scotland shirt actually got escorted out at the end. I wanted to see him because he was a really good support!”
The John Cain Arena has become an attraction for tennis’ raucous fans due to its two-story bar, resulting in groups of inebriated supporters.
The Fearnley-Cazaux encounter proved to be so loud that the neighbouring match on Court 8 had to be moved to another court.
Fearnley took notice of the increased noise, adding: “The Kyrgios match was louder, but I was a bit more distant, so it didn’t kind of feel as in my face.
“Whereas this one, it feels like you’re face-to-face, and it was pretty loud.”
The dream run continues for Fearnley on Thursday (Friday in Australia) when he takes on world No 2 Alexander Zverev in what should prove to be one of the ties of the round.
Zverev is a two-time Grand Slam finalist at the 2020 US Open and 2024 French Open, and he also reached the last four in Melbourne last year.
The German has continued his impressive form by beating Lucas Pouille and Pedro Martinez in straight sets in the previous rounds, suggesting Fearnley will need every last ounce of support from the travelling Scottish faithful.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk