Australian Open had been compelled to evacuate after courtroom flooded in ‘rarest footage’

The Australian Open has nearly seen all of it in its 119-year historical past – together with a freak flooding of centre courtroom.

Tennis‘ first Grand Slam of the yr is performed throughout the southern hemisphere’s summer time. But that does not assure sunshine, particularly not within the unpredictable local weather of Melbourne.

Back in 1995, the climate acquired as loopy as it could possibly get when a rain storm struck on the Rod Laver Arena. It compelled the boys’s singles semi-final between Andre Agassi and Aaron Krickstein to be accomplished below a closed roof.

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Despite a delay, that sport was completed with out concern as eventual champion Agassi progressed. But mere minutes later, there was an influence outage across the website.

And that meant the draining system liable for pumping water out of Melbourne Park failed. As a consequence, the extreme rainfall started flooding onto the courtroom.

Officials scrambled to clear the sector, with digicam operators desperately making an attempt to take down their gear in worry of it turning into broken.

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While they rushed to flee, defending ladies’s doubles champions Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva – who had been due on to play subsequent – emerged for his or her match as if nothing was occurring.

In what was described as “some of the rarest footage ever seen in the history of the Australian Open” by the commentator, Fernandez and Zvereva bounced round pretending they had been enjoying, blissfully unaware of the electrocution threat surrounding them.

Their antics led to followers following go well with, with one jokingly backstroking their method by means of the flood water earlier than being escorted away by safety.

It wasn’t simply centre courtroom that was impacted. The flooding unfold proper throughout Melbourne Park, together with into the workplace areas.

An enormous clean-up operation adopted to ensure the match may conclude as deliberate. Fernandez and Zvereva had been finally dethroned within the last.