Tournament on high security alert after ethnic brawl
(Reuters)Updated: 2007-01-16 09:09
Australian Open organisers were on high alert on Tuesday amid fears ethnic clashes between Serbs and Croats that marred the opening day of the grand slam could erupt again.
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It was the first time such violence had flared in more than 100 years of grand slam tennis history.
Heavy security is expected around the outside court when the match takes place after thugs vowed to renew hostilities for the second day running.
"We'll definitely be here... we're coming back," a Serbian supporter clad in his national colours was quoted as saying in Tuesday's edition of the Herald Sun newspaper.
About 150 fans were evicted from the Melbourne Park grounds on Monday after fighting flared between rival Croatian and Serbian supporters.
Police, however, made no arrests and organisers admitted that they had no way of preventing the fans from returning to the tournament.
"We will monitor them and if we feel there are any issues arising, we will take appropriate action," Open spokesman John Lindsay said.
"It's the first time we've had an incident of this nature... we're going to keep a close eye on everyone but we're not going to judge every fan on the basis of a few."
In scenes reminiscent of clashes that have often taken place outside soccer stadiums, insults were exchanged between the rival fractions before the violence escalated to bottles being thrown, and kicks and punches being traded.
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