Rafael Nadal’s Australian Open tie against Michael Mmoh was disrupted during the second set by a drunk fan who appeared to swear at the Spaniard. Nadal was coasting through the second set before having his serving motion disrupted.
Nadal was on fine form on Thursday morning as he made easy work of Mmoh, but his match was made tougher by the presence of a loud fan.
Due to covid-19 restrictions, only a limited amount of fans are allowed inside the arena.
But one fan who was allowed in made the most of having secured a ticket.
During the closing stages of the second set, Nadal was 5-4 up and serving for the set when the fan made herself heard.
She appeared to shout while Nadal was throwing the ball up in the air to serve, forcing him to step back from the baseline.
Then, when he did the same again, she repeated the action to much frustration from the rest of the crowd.
She was then spotted sticking two fingers up towards either another member of the crowd or an official, delaying Nadal’s service game.
The Spaniard went on to win two points before she piped up again, once more making herself heard.
Bizarrely, the supporter then appeared to swear at Nadal, prompting him to laugh and ask: “Me?”
Despite then attempting to serve again, she once again swore at him and held up a middle finger to the 34-year-old.
The fan, who was sat by herself in front of a row of Nadal fans, appeared to have no desire of leaving the Melbourne Arena despite receiving a talking-to from stewards.
Only after Nadal appeared to urge the umpire to let play continue did crowd officials march up the stands and forcibly remove her.
