Australian Open crowd member arrested by police on suspicion of assault

Victoria Police have confirmed a group of men were ejected from the men’s quarter-final match, with one arrested for allegedly assaulting staff.

Police stand guard at the Australian Open

Victoria Police have confirmed a group of men were ejected from the Gael Monfils v Matteo Berrettini match on Tuesday night, with one man arrested for arrested for allegedly assaulting a staff.

“Police engaged with a small group of males in support of security, after complaints by patrons at Rod Laver Arena just after midnight,” a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.

A 37-year-old man is alleged to have assaulted staff members at the venue before he was arrested around midnight.

The man is expected to be interviewed at a later time amid an ongoing investigation.

A 27-year-old man was issued with a banning notice and also removed from the arena.

Not for the first time this tournament the Rod Laver Arena crowd was making headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Police stand guard at the Australian Open

After Berrettini won the match - making history as the first Italian man to reach the semi-finals of the Melbourne tournament - he was told to “f*** off” by someone in the crowd.

The Italian remained cool and suggested “not everyone watching was a real tennis fan”

“It’s full of people and I like it,” he told Sam Groth. “It is what it is you know, you cannot control everybody.”

He later said he understood why the crowd was against him.

Police escort rowdy fans from the arena as Italy's Matteo Berrettini beats France's Gael Monfils

“I’m fine when the crowd is against me, and I think when you’re playing Gael, it’s normal because Gael is really loved. Also US Open was like that, and I don’t have anything against that. But I have a problem when you’re not correct, because if you’re saying something, screaming something between my first and second serve, when I’m about to hit a forehand, like you cough or you do something, then it’s not right. I have a problem with that.”

It is the latest blow to the tournament which has faced furious backlash in recent days for banning spectators from wearing messages of support for Peng Shuai.

Two fans were told to change their clothes and had a banner removed because it carried “political messaging” asking #WhereIsPengShuai?

Having initially stood by their decision to ban the items, Tennis Australia backflipped on their decision on Tuesday.

Explaining their decision to change their stance, Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley this morning said: “If anyone is coming on to disrupt the comfort or safety of fans they’re not welcome but if they want to come on the site and put a T-shirt on and say ‘Where is Peng Shuai?’ we’re fine as long as there is no intent to disrupt comfort and safety of fans.

“If that is the case, it’s fine.

“If there is suspicion of intent to disrupt the comfort of fans, a security guard will not let them in and on site if anyone gets rowdy and disrupts the comfort of fans they will be asked to leave.

“Anyone coming to Melbourne Park we hope has a good time and we’ll manage that as best we can.”