Rogue seagull brings Australian Open matches to a halt

Two matches at the Australian Open were brought to a halt by a rogue interruption that might be the most Aussie thing ever.

Two Australian Open clashes on Monday were hilariously interrupted by a naughty seagull.

The grand slam attracts the biggest tennis stars from around the globe, but on this occasion every single one of them were outshone by the most unlikely creature.

The Sun reports a persistent seagull caused chaotic scenes at Margaret Court Arena during the first-round clash between Dominic Thiem and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

The bird landed on the court opposite Auger-Aliassime, who was lining up his second serve.

The animal then enjoyed a little stroll across the court as the match was suddenly halted before a ball girl helped it fly away.

Match officials thought they got rid of the intruder but the seagull then re-emerged as it flew all over the court, much to the crowd’s amusement.

Rinky Hijikata had his match interrupted on match point. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

The seagull was living its best life.

It seemed like the unexpected guest had enough of Thiem and Auger-Aliassime’s match.

But that wasn’t the last fans saw of it as it suddenly appeared on Court 3 as Jan-Lennard Struff and Aussie Rinky Hijikata were preparing for match point.

The interruption came when Hijikata was down a match point in the fifth set tie-break. He ultimately lost 3-6 6-3 6-3 6-7 7-6 (8-10).

In heartbreaking scenes after the defeat, Hijikata was spotted in the player gym with his head buried in his arms as he slumped over the back of an exercise bicycle.

A seagull decided to go onto the court 🤣🤣 #AusOpen

— JAKE FLAGPIES23 🏆🖤🤍 (@IncrediblyBozza) January 15, 2024

Oh they’re booing the seagull 😭 maybe I don’t hate this crowd.

— Amelia (@abh_hockey) January 15, 2024

But thankfully for the players, the bird’s visit was much shorter this time around.

Tennis enthusiasts watching the Australian Open from around the world were left absolutely stunned by those hilarious incidents.

One fan tweeted: “She’s the main star.”

A second commented: “Now isn’t a great time, mate…”

A third said: “So cute he’s just checking out the match.”

Another posted: “*Dials security. Yeah, he’s back again. Court 3 this time. On match point, too.”

That’s weird, there’s no hot chips here. (Photo by WILLIAM WEST / AFP)

That’s it, I’m outta here. (Photo by WILLIAM WEST / AFP)

While it wasn’t to be for Hijikata, fellow countrymen Alex de Minaur secured his spot in the second round after Milos Raonic was forced to withdraw in the third set.

De Minaur is favoured to beat Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi in the second round, but it won’t get any easier for the other Aussie men remaining in the draw.

Alexei Popyrin will play Novak Djokovic, Jordan Thompson takes on Stefanos Tsitsipas and Chris O’Connell faces Ben Shelton.

This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission.