Ivanovic’s Tennis Coach Collapses at Australian Open

A mid-match medical emergency involving Ana Ivanovic’s coach – who is also the father of Andy Murray’s heavily pregnant wife – caused concern and disruption on a dramatic evening at the Australian Open on Saturday.

Murray will now face Australia’s Bernard Tomic, seeded 16th, hopefully his father-in-law, Nigel Sears would have recovered after news broke that the old man collapsed at the Rod Laver Arena.

Tournament organisers said Sears was “breathing, conscious and talking” and being examined by a cardiologist at a nearby hospital after being carried out of the showcourt on a stretcher.

After the Brit’s scrappy four set win over Joao Sousa on Saturday, Murray rushed to hospital to tend to his father-in-law Nigel Sears who had collapsed whilst the match was taking place.

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Murray has never lost a tour match to an Australian and a break in the first game in Melbourne suggested his good form would continue.

Sears’ collapse mirrored an incident which shook up Ivanovic during her third-round match, when an elderly spectator was badly hurt in a fall from the stairs in the same stadium.

The Scot, who reportedly spent yesterday at his father-in-law’s bedside, was practising on one of the outside courts at Melbourne Park today in preparation for his fourth-round clash with Australia’s Bernard Tomic tomorrow.

“I just tried to keep fighting”.

The 28-year-old performed his normal victory celebrations after reaching the last 16 for the eighth straight year but was ushered off without the usual on-court post-match interview.

And on his quarter-final opponent David Ferrer, Murray added: “Tough match”.

A string of breaks in the second set saw Murray take a 4-2 before holding serve to win the set.

“I will enjoy myself first because I beat No. 3 in the world”, Strycova said.

ESPN’s courtside reporter, former player Pam Shriver, said she had been told by Ivanovic’s team that Sears had complained of feeling unwell 30 minutes before the match.

No. 10-seeded John Isner, who fired 44 aces as he advanced with a 6-7 (8), 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-4 win over Feliciano Lopez.

Play resumed just under an hour after the incident with Ivanovic, who reunited with Sears past year after working with her between 2011-13, returning composed.

Tomic also said he believed some more consistency in his play would see him achieve his goal. She went on to lose 4-6 6-4 6-4 to the number 15 seed.