Match marred by crowd trouble

Agence France-Presse

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Disturbances continued outside Melbourne Park after the men and women were thrown out, with taunts and punches thrown.

In unprecedented scenes, the two sets of supporters gathered at Garden Square outside Rod Laver Arena after the match with the riot sparked by verbal abuse. Dozens of chairs were then hurled by the groups as passers-by cowered before police and security guards stepped in.

One woman was hit on the head by a chair and needed treatment for cuts and bruises. Two people were charged with riotous behavior.

"A number of people got into a chair-throwing contest between two groups with the result that 30-odd people were ejected from Rod Laver," said Inspector Chris Duthie of Melbourne East Police.

Asked what the dispute was about, he replied: "I don't know, probably ethnic rivalries."

Delic had appealed before the match for calm.

"I'm really sad to hear about it. As I said a couple days ago, there's absolutely no place for that here. This is a tennis match," he said.

Djokovic was reluctant to get involved, saying only that players had no control over what fans did. "I am happy when I see that I have my own group of fans that are supporting me in a fair way, not provoking my opponent and everything is going in a sportsmanship way," he said.

But fellow Serb Ana Ivanovic said violence had no place in sport.

"I hope in the future people can end this and appreciate the hard work we put in and just enjoy it rather than have fights," she said.