By Greg Stutchbury
MELBOURNE: The coach of Ana Ivanovic, and father-in-law of men's world number two Andy Murray, collapsed in the stands on Saturday, forcing a near hour-long suspension of the Serb's third round clash at the Australian Open.
A Reuters witness said that Nigel Sears was conscious and appeared to be communicating with medical staff as they treated him before he was taken out of Rod Laver Arena on a stretcher and then to hospital.
Ivanovic was leading American Madison Keys 1-0 in the second set after taking the first 6-4 when play was halted as the players went to change ends.
Murray, oblivious to the development, was playing Portugal's Joao Sousa on Margaret Court Arena.
Television microphones picked up Ivanovic talking to chair umpire Felix Torralba that she thought the person being treated was her coach. The Serb looked visibly distressed before she and Keys went off court about 10 minutes after play was halted.
Tournament organisers said they did not have any details of what had necessitated Sears to require treatment.
The 58-year-old Sears had previously coached Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova, leading her to a top-10 ranking. He joined Ivanovic in June 2011 after almost five years with the Lawn Tennis Association and Britain's Fed Cup team.
They parted company after Wimbledon in 2013 but he rejoined her team last year.
Ivanovic still appeared distressed when they returned to court and ESPN reported both her and Keys had been given the option to postpone the match, though tournament organisers were not able to confirm that immediately to Reuters.
It is the second time this tournament that one of Ivanovic's matches had been suspended due to an incident in the stands.
Her second round match against Anastasija Sevastova was held up for 26 minutes when a woman fell in the stands at the same showcourt.
Reuters
