A Vienna Open semi-final between Karen Khachanov and Alex de Minaur was halted in the first set after a rowdy fan disrupted play, forcing both stars to walk off the court until the spectator was ejected.
At 30-30 in the very first game, a fan was loudly shouting and leaning on Khachanov’s coach in the front row, causing both players to be distracted until action was taken to remove them.
De Minaur and Khachanov on their own accord decided to walk off the court until security appeared and escorted the disturbance out of the arena in Austria.
Former British star Naomi Broady, who reached the Wimbledon doubles quarter-finals on two occasions, was on commentary duty for Sky Sports and insisted that there was no option but to remove the fan.
“Issue on centre court with one of the spectators that is courtside,” she said. “They’re sat right alongside Khachanov’s team. Go on, do the right thing. He’s basically lying on Khachanov’s coach. They’re going to have to wait for security to come and escort him out if he’s not going to leave.”
Play eventually resumed with both players fighting for a chance to take on Jack Draper in the final, after the Brit overcame Lorenzo Mussetti on the same day.
And Khachanov dominated the first set, taking it 6-2 by winning 12 of the final 15 points. Despite De Minaur’s supreme defending abilities, he was no match for his Russian big-hitting opponent.
Khachanov ended up taking a comfortable 6-2, 6-4 and is now just one win away from his third title of the year.
World No. 10 De Minaur was fighting for a place at this year’s ATP Finals, currently ninth in the live Race To Turin. It would be his debut at the end-of-season tournament, but the Aussie knows that a lack of time on the court has hampered his chances of featuring.
“Now it’s crunch time. Every match counts. Every single point counts,” De Minaur said after defeating Jakub Mensik 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4 on Friday.
“I am gonna do my best. I haven’t played enough tennis this year, I have been sidelined for a while. So, plenty of energy and plenty of fight in me. So, I am going to make sure I give it my all every time I step out on court.”
Khachanov pulled off a stunning 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback victory over Brandon Nakashima in the quarter-finals to set up a tie with De Minaur.
The 28-year-old won his eight previous games before taking on De Minaur, having lifted the trophy in Almaty last week.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk