An incident during a match at the Australian Open caused a delay when a ball kid became sick on the court. The match featured Greek player Stefano Tsitsipas against Japan’s Shintaro Mochizuki in the tournament’s first round on Tuesday.
Mochizuki claimed the first set 6-4, with Tsitsipas mounting a comeback to win the second set 6-3. However, the start of the third set was interrupted as a ball kid suddenly fell ill at the back of the court, resulting in audible discomfort from the crowd.
The match was promptly halted, and medical personnel attended to the affected individual, while both Tsitsipas and Mochizuki retreated to their seating areas. This incident occurred shortly after a separate match involving Naomi Osaka and Antonia Ruzic was suspended at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
Initially, TNT Sports’ commentators were puzzled by the abrupt stoppage of the Mochizuki-Tsitsipas game. They mentioned, “We’re facing a delay here, we’ll pause and await resolution.”
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They remarked, “My goodness, it’s all happening. Is it something in the audience? Earlier at Rod Laver Arena, there was a technical problem.
“Let’s hope this gets resolved swiftly. They’re currently on hold for a bit. It seems like there might be an issue on the court that needs attention.”
Following the cleanup of the court, play resumed eight minutes later, with Tsitsipas clinching the next two sets 6-2, securing a second-round encounter with Czech player Tomas Machac. Unfortunately, this was not the first instance of a ball kid falling ill at this year’s event.
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Earlier in the week, another ball
