Ethnic Violence Erupts at Aussie Open

Serbs, Bosnians throw chairs during Djokovic-Delic match
By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 23, 2009 8:01 AM CST

Violence broke out again at the Australian Open today, as Serbian and Bosnian spectators threw punches, then chairs, at each other in Melbourne Park's garden square. The incident took place as Novak Djokovic, the Serbian defending champion, played his third-round match against Amer Delic, a Bosnian-born American. One woman was knocked out, and police arrested two men and ejected 30 spectators, the Telegraph reports.

With tournament gaining a reputation for such scuffles, police instituted new security measures after incidents in 2007 and 2008. But earlier this week two fans were thrown out for fighting after a match between Croatian and Serbian players. There were no incidents inside the stadium, where Djokovic won today’s match 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6. (More Australian Open stories.)

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