Ivanovic, Muguruza reach 3rd round at Australian Open

There was a lengthy delay on Rod Laver Arena in the first match of the day, during Ana Ivanovic’s 6-3, 6-3 win over Anastasija Sevastova.

Ana Ivanovic was left badly shaken Thursday when an elderly spectator fell on a flight of stairs during her third-round match at the Australian Open, delaying play for nearly 30 minutes as she received medical treatment.

Chair umpire Juan Zhang called a halt to the game unsure what had happened as security attended to the fan.

The first set between the Serbian and her opponent Anastasija Sevastova was held up for 26 minutes as the woman was treated by medical staff in the stands of the showcourt.

Muguruza will next play Barbora Strycova, who beat American Vania King 7-6 (5), 6-4.

As she eyes a third-round assignment with the victor of the Madison Keys and Yaroslava Shvedova second round, Ivanovic would be encouraged by a healthy 83 per cent success rate on her first serves and the effective forehand that contributed to nine of 12 winners.

Ivanvoic was leading 4-3 with a break at the time and both players initially paced around the edge of the court before leaving for the locker room as the spectator was carried away on a stretcher.

Ivanovic said she feared the worst for the spectator, “So I just hope the lady was fine”.

Meanwhile, frenchman Gael Monfils too went through after a complete performance against Nicolas Mahut.

“I felt really bad”.

“It was actually good to wait a little bit because I was really shaking”.

“I was really shaking, because I could imagine and it was not so nice”.

Third-seeded Garbine Muguruza is in the same half of the draw, and the 2015 Wimbledon finalist moved into the third round for the third straight year at Melbourne Park with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Kirsten Flipkens.

Having spent some of her pre-season in Melbourne, where she targeted fitness and injury prevention, Ivanovic would mostly be pleased with another win in her favourite city.

That loss dealt a further blow to her quest to return to the heights of 2008, when she won the French Open as a 20-year-old and reached world number one.

Johanna Konta followed up her first-round win over Venus WIlliams with a 6-2, 6-3 win against Zheng Saisai, and Zhang Shuai beat Alize Cornet 6-3, 6-3 two days after her opening upset against Halep. Japanese qualifier Naomi Osaka beat No. 18 Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-4.