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If there was any player who had the courage to play on after a near-tragic turn of events at the Australian Open, it was former world number one Ana Ivanovic.
Her third round match against Madison Keys on Rod Laver Arena was suspended early in the second set after her coach, Nigel Sears, collapsed in the stands after appearing to feel unwell and thus deciding to leave the arena.
By this point, Ivanovic had taken the opening set 6-4 after breaking Keys in the tenth game, and held for 1-0 to start the second when the drama unfolded. Play was suspended indefinitely, and the players asked to leave the court. Sears was treated on the scene and subsequently taken to Melbourne’s Epworth Hospital.
It was the second consecutive match in which the Serb was involved in such drama, after an elderly spectator also fell on a set of stairs during her straight-sets win against Anastasija Sevatstova in the second round.
Ivanovic said after that match that she had been “shaken” by what had happened, but there was no doubt she was shaken more by the incident involving her coach on Saturday night.
Having been given the option of continuing or postponing the match, both players decided to play on, and Ivanovic’s lack of focus owing to the Sears incident eventually got the better of her. She lost in three sets despite establishing what appeared to be match-winning leads in the second (4-2) and third (3-0) sets.
More frustratingly, it was her fifth three-set defeat at the Australian Open since finishing runner-up to Maria Sharapova in 2008, and her third in a row from a set up. Nonetheless, it was an improvement from her last appearance, when a toe injury contributed to a shock first-round loss to 142-ranked Lucie Hradecka last year.
That came twelve months after she had stunned world number one Serena Williams in the fourth round before she lost a three-set heartbreaker to Eugenie Bouchard in the quarter-finals.
Entering her match against Keys, Ivanovic was just one of two former Grand Slam finalists (the other being Victoria Azarenka) remaining in the draw, following Garbine Muguruza’s loss earlier in the day.
She was seen as the favourite to reach the semi-finals from the bottom quarter after Venus Williams and Simona Halep were both knocked out in the first round.
Ivanovic had rejoined forces with Nigel Sears midway through last year, after previously working under him between June 2011 and July 2013, during which the Serb reached the quarter-finals at the 2012 US Open.
Sears had also previously worked with Daniela Hantuchova in the early 2000s.
What a tough match. I felt like I produced some good games and created some opportunities, but Madison came back strong and powerful!
— Ana Ivanovic (@AnaIvanovic) January 23, 2016
The incident involving the 58-year-old also affected world number two Andy Murray, who is the veteran coach’s son-in-law. Murray is married to Kim Sears, who is due to give birth to the couple’s first child in the next few weeks.
Murray was in action against Joao Sousa next door on Margaret Court Arena and played his match completely unaware of what was unfolding on Rod Laver Arena. It’s understood his mother informed him of the news after he won his third round match in four sets; Murray then rushed off to hospital to be by his bedside.
Neither Ivanovic, Keys or Murray gave their traditional post-match interviews or referred to the Nigel Sears incident in statements they later released, instead reflecting on their own individual performances.
Thank you for all your nice tweets and words of encouragement. The crowd was amazing tonight! So grateful for all my fans around the word!
— Ana Ivanovic (@AnaIvanovic) January 23, 2016
In some good news that has just come in, Sears appears to be OK and is recovering in Epworth Hospital, the very hospital where British tennis legend Fred Perry passed away in 1995.
All our prayers are with Ana Ivanovic, Andy Murray and the Sears family at this difficult time.
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