Australian Open Day Eight: Live score and game-by-game updates as the Australian Open descends into chaos as a man throws a chair during a wild brawl

Ugly scenes unfolded at the Australian Open on Sunday afternoon as a brawl erupted near to the Grand Slam Oval.

The Herald Sun reports that a group of men were waiting in line at the Peroni stall when the argument broke out.

One man appeared to grab a chair and throw the seat towards a group of fans who were stood outside the bar area.

A woman was seen attempting to break up the altercation as patrons pushed and shoved each other.

Security officers were seen arriving at the scene and attempted to break up the brawl.

It is not clear how the altercation broke out.

Crowd trouble has been a problem at this year’s Australian Open with some players, including British star Harriet Dart, hitting out at fans earlier in the week.

Dart said that it ‘felt like being at a football match’ as boisterous fans watched on as she suffered defeat against Donna Vekic on Court 14.

While it has been largely a relaxed environment at Melbourne Park this week, with most fans respecting the players, some have caught the ire of commentators, including Australian tennis great Pat Rafter.

He labelled the rowdy crowd behaviour ‘disrespectful’.

‘It’s been like that for a couple of years,’ he said.

‘Sometimes I think it is disrespectful, sometimes I think it’s just part of the game, the transition of this generation – that’s what they want and this is the Australian Open.’

Fans in fact booed Jack Draper earlier in the week as he walked out to claim a huge comeback victory against Thanasi Kokkinakis. The Brit said he had relished the intimidating environment, despite also stating that he had copped a few sledges on the court.

American star Danielle Collins was also booed off after she defeated Aussie Destanee Aiava earlier this week.

During her press conference, she added: ‘I think there were a lot of people that were super drunk and had a hard time controlling themselves and were really excited.’

During his match against Jack Draper, Carlos Alcaraz was seen fuming at the chair umpire following a bizarre incident that involved his towel.

Despite sealing a 5-7 victory in the first set, Alcaraz did not deliver the performance that we’ve come to expect of the 21-year-old. After taking a 5-3 lead, he struggled to close out the opening exchange, conceding a break before Draper pulled level at 5-5.

During the first set, Alcaraz copped a towel warning from the chair umpire. The official had deemed that he was heading over to his towel basket too frequently during the match.

Temperatures soared to 31ºc on Sunday afternoon and both players were seen throughout the match mopping the sweat from their brows.

Yet, Alcaraz, was incensed by the warning and was seen fuming at the chair umpire during one changeover.

He was overheard saying to the umpire.

It’s my fourth match and you are the only one who, after a game, you had to be like that with the clock, it’s crazy.

I finish a game, I went to the towel and I didn’t take too much time for it, and then when I ask for the balls I have 15 seconds… it’s crazy!

I have to go to the towel and if I go, the balls are all on that side. You know where is the towel, it’s unbelievable! Come on!

Eurosport commentator Anne Keothavong was a little taken aback by the outburst:

Wow, well you don’t usually see Alcaraz rattled like that, and he was before he served for the set.

Fergus Murphy just gave him a heads-up on the time he was taking between points, but I do think Alcaraz had a fair point. I don’t think he is deliberately stalling – this is a big court.

I’m not sure it was necessary by the umpire to say anything there.

During his match against Jack Draper, Carlos Alcaraz was seen fuming at the chair umpire following a bizarre incident that involved his towel.

Despite sealing a 5-7 victory in the first set, Alcaraz did not deliver the performance that we’ve come to expect of the 21-year-old. After taking a 5-3 lead, he struggled to close out the opening exchange, conceding a break before Draper pulled level at 5-5.

During the first set, Alcaraz copped a towel warning from the chair umpire. The official had deemed that he was heading over to his towel basket too frequently during the match.

Temperatures soared to 31ºc on Sunday afternoon and both players were seen throughout the match mopping the sweat from their brows.

Yet, Alcaraz, was incensed by the warning and was seen fuming at the chair umpire during one changeover.

He was overheard saying to the umpire.

It’s my fourth match and you are the only one who, after a game, you had to be like that with the clock, it’s crazy.

I finish a game, I went to the towel and I didn’t take too much time for it, and then when I ask for the balls I have 15 seconds… it’s crazy!

I have to go to the towel and if I go, the balls are all on that side. You know where is the towel, it’s unbelievable! Come on!

Eurosport commentator Anne Keothavong was a little taken aback by the outburst:

Wow, well you don’t usually see Alcaraz rattled like that, and he was before he served for the set.

Fergus Murphy just gave him a heads-up on the time he was taking between points, but I do think Alcaraz had a fair point. I don’t think he is deliberately stalling – this is a big court.

I’m not sure it was necessary by the umpire to say anything there.

Carlos Alcaraz gave Jack Draper a big hug after the British star withdrew from their fourth-round clash earlier this afternoon.

Draper cut a deflated figure after he was forced to retire from the match due to an injury.

The Spaniard, meanwhile, is gunning to clinch his first Australian Open title and a career Grand Slam this week in Melbourne, but he admitted that today’s result was not the way he wanted to progress to the quarter-finals.

Well, for me in that situation, I don’t feel comfortable. Obviously, it’s not the way I wanted to get through to win matches. When I see someone who has to retire because of an injury, for me it’s not an easy moment.

I couldn’t say anything to Jack in that moment. Just wish him a good recovery. Just said sorry.

He added that he saw Draper in the locker room after the match and made another touching gesture to the British star.

But I just said that I’m going to see him soon playing his best again.

Carlos Alcaraz has been praised by many for a classy gesture he completed at the end of his victory against Jack Draper.

He progressed to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open after the British No 1 withdrew with a hip injury.

Draper who looked uncomfortable on the court this afternoon revealed that he was battling through a tendinitis problem in his hip.

Alcaraz, who will now face either Novak Djokovic or Jiri Lehecka in the next round, showed his support to Draper at the end of the match, giving him a hug before writing a message on the television camera lens.

The message read: ‘You will be where you deserve! Get well soon Jack!’

Jack Draper has spoken out on the injury that forced him to retire during his fourth-round clash against Carlos Alcaraz earlier this afternoon.

The 23-year-old revealed that he had been suffering from a tendinitis injury in his hip in recent weeks that he has had to battle through, despite having been forced to play three five-set matches to reach the fourth-round of the Australian Open.

Essentially I had tendinitis in my hip, which I had to get MRI looked at and stuff. I have had a history of problems in that area. Like, it hasn’t gone away. I’m still dealing with that.

Obviously in the preseason, it into my back and I couldn’t walk and it was really difficult. I have come here and I have been managing that.

You know, I have been unbelievably surprised with how much I have been able to play and put my body through, more than I have ever done before, especially.

So, yeah, I think it’s just one of those things, just massive overload. This area of my body, you know, if I don’t get that right and I don’t make good decisions, you know, I don’t want to miss three or four months because of that, you know.

Jack Draper has spoken out on the injury that forced him to retire during his fourth-round clash against Carlos Alcaraz earlier this afternoon.

The 23-year-old revealed that he had been suffering from a tendinitis injury in his hip in recent weeks that he has had to battle through, despite having been forced to play three five-set matches to reach the fourth-round of the Australian Open.

Essentially I had tendinitis in my hip, which I had to get MRI looked at and stuff. I have had a history of problems in that area. Like, it hasn’t gone away. I’m still dealing with that.

Obviously in the preseason, it into my back and I couldn’t walk and it was really difficult. I have come here and I have been managing that.

You know, I have been unbelievably surprised with how much I have been able to play and put my body through, more than I have ever done before, especially.

So, yeah, I think it’s just one of those things, just massive overload. This area of my body, you know, if I don’t get that right and I don’t make good decisions, you know, I don’t want to miss three or four months because of that, you know.

Grab yourself a cup of tea as we’ve got a big evening coming your way, with Novak Djokovic getting underway against Jiri Lehecka at Rod Laver Arena.

Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev and Ugo Humbert are going toe-to-toe at the John Cain Arena.

It’s all square in that match, with Zverev, one of the favourites to win here this week, taking the first set 6-1.

Humbert responded strongly with a second-set victory of 6-2.

Temperatures have topped 32ºc here in Melbourne today and I reckon these players will be happy they weren’t playing earlier on in the blistering heat.

Coco Gauff came from behind to beat Belinda Bencic 5-7 6-2 6-1 on Sunday afternoon to progress to the quarter-finals of the women’s singles.

She faces a tough match against 11th seed Paola Badosa in the round of eight.

But there was a lighthearted moment at the end of her match against Bencic, where Gauff wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ with a heart on the TV camera lens.

The social media video platform has gone offline in the USA and is no longer available in app stores to users in the United States after a law had been enacted in the country to ban the social media platform.

American users were greeted by the message: ‘A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US.

‘Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.

‘We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned.’

Gauff has 757,800 users on the social media platform and has accrued 22.3million likes on her videos.

Last week one game being played on Court 8 had to be moved to Court 7 because of disruptions caused by boisterous fans over on Court 6, known as the ‘party court’.

Court 6 has been a controversial topic over the years, with players at last year’s tournament having been critical over the atmosphere around that particular section of Melbourne Park.

On the eastern side of the court, fans can enjoy a drink at the two-tier bar while they watch the tennis. Background music is played and television screens show highlights of the other matches taking place around the tennis precinct.

While, for the most part, players have embraced the atmosphere on the court, it wasn’t the case last year, with some hitting out at the atmosphere.

Jacob Fearnley secured victory on Court 6 earlier in the week against Arthur Cazaux and commented on the atmosphere.

‘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.

‘But as I settled into the match, I kind of blocked it out as much as I could.

‘Obviously, there was some supporters who were extremely drunk, but it was a great atmosphere.

‘There was one guy, actually, who was extremely vocal on the bar side. At first, I couldn’t tell if he was trying to psych me out — but then I realised he was on my side.’

In fact, because some fans were so noisy during that match, Davidovich Fokina’s match against Felix Auger-Aliassime on Court 8 had to be moved.

The 21-year-old booked his place in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open earlier this afternoon.

He secured his passage as British star Jack Draper withdrew with injury after losing the first two sets.

After playing five sets in each of his opening three rounds, the rigours of this week had appeared to take their toll on the British No 1, with Draper ultimately withdrawing to concede the match against Alcaraz.

It was a tough moment for the Brit, who looked gutted as he packed up his things, but there was a touching moment after the match from Alcaraz.

The 21-year-old, who is gunning to win his first Australian Open title this week, hugged and appeared to share some words with Draper after the match.

He then proceeded to write a heartwarming message of support to the Brit on the TV camera lens before vacating the court.

He wrote: ‘You will be where you deserve. Get well soon Jack!’

Tough break for Jack Draper as he has withdrawn from his fourth-round clash against Carlos Alcaraz with what seems like an injury.

It’s been a brutal week for Draper who has had to play out three five-set matches to reach the fourth round here at Melbourne Park.

Draper went two sets down in the match and had been hanging on against ferocious 21-year-old Alcaraz, who is bidding to win his first Australian Open title this week.

But Draper just wasn’t looking in the best of form and much to his anguish was forced to retire after suffering a 6-1 defeat in the second set.

Recap on all the action below…

Jack Draper manages to hold again! It’s the eighth break point he’s saved this match and he’s managed to fend off the advances of his opponent twice in this game to pull a game back.

Having watched Draper this week, one thing for certain is that you do not rule this man out, with Draper having produced an epic comeback win against Thanasi Kokkinakis earlier in the week.

Meanwhile, Kokkinakis’ doubles partner Nick Kyrgios has brutally slammed a television presenter today.

The Aussie firebrand took aim at Channel 9 broadcaster Tony Jones after the TV star taunted Novak Djokovic at Melbourne park.

Jones branded Djokovic a ‘has been’ during a segment ahead of the Serbian’s third-round clash against Tomas Machac earlier in the week.

Speaking in front of a crowd of fans who were chanting for Djokovic, Jones turned and delivered his own song to the fans.

Bizarrely he shouted: ‘Novak is overrated … Novak’s a has-been … Novak kick him out.’

He added to the TV cameras: ‘I’m glad that they can’t hear me…’

The video has gone viral online, with Kyrgios subsequently publishing a clip of the controversial moment to his Instagram account.

The Australian, who bowed out of the men’s singles in the opening round this week, captioned the Instagram story: ‘Coming from this clown – couldn’t run around a park this bloke.’

Jones has copped flack from several others for his bizarre spray, with Paul McNamee hitting back at the remark.

The Aussie tennis great added: ‘Tony I’m surprised, especially as you work for the host broadcaster, that you would send up a bunch of Aussies [with European heritage] having a good time celebrating their 10-time AO champion … trying to be funny mate.’

Even Hawthorn star Jack Ginnivan blasted the comment.

‘How can this be on TV. Disrespecting the GOAT, embarrassing,’ he wrote.

Or good morning if you’re just waking up in the United Kingdom!

We’re mid-way through the tournament and what a week it’s been.

While we’ve not had as many matches on today at Melbourne Park, we’ve got a huge evening to bring you, with Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev both in action later this evening.

The big news this afternoon is that Jack Draper is currently a set down against Carlos Alcaraz and the world No 3 is showing no signs of letting up.

We’re deep into the second set here at Rod Laver Arena and Alcaraz is on the cusp of securing a double break that could put him 4-0 up, should he win the game.

It is his 11th break point opportunity of the match, but Draper is making things hard for the Spaniard.