Aussie Open flare-ups hard to stop - tournament boss
Talek Harris
Australian Open officials admit violence is nearly impossible to
eradicate despite unprecedented security following the third ethnic
clashes here in as many years.
Tournament director Craig Tiley said it was hard to stop every
incident, with organisers concentrating on preventing as many as
possible and stamping out any flare-ups quickly.
Large numbers
"It is hard to have people walk through the site in large numbers and
not to have an incident between three or four individuals, but our
action against that is swift and quick," Tiley told AFP.
Hundreds of thousands of fans pass through Melbourne Park over the
two-week tournament with many gulping beer at the Garden Square
big-screen area where Serbian and Bosnian fans brawled on Friday.
They hurled plastic chairs at each other, knocking one Bosnian woman
to the ground as she was hit on the head. About 30 men were ejected as
skirmishes continued outside.
The latest incident came despite increased CCTV surveillance after
similar clashes over the past two years.
Flag poles
In 2007, Serbian and Croatian fans attacked each other with flag
poles and bottles and last year, police used pepper spray to subdue
rowdy elements of the crowd watching a match between Konstantinos
Economidis and Fernando Gonzales.
Tiley said nearly all of Melbourne Park, which includes three main
arenas, two show courts and 19 outside courts on the edge of the city
centre, was now covered by CCTV cameras which are monitored constantly.
"If we recognise someone that is potentially going to de disruptive,
through the CCTV we monitor what they're doing and how they're moving
through the site," he said.
"We have a full security team that's constantly looking at
surveillance tape and direct TV. If they recognise something that's
going to be potentially disruptive they go through a management process
with that." Tiley admitted the incidents had damaged the image of the
tournament, which is the only Grand Slam - and the only tennis event -
to have a problem with violence.
But he said they would not harm Melbourne's chances of retaining the
Open, which has reportedly attracted interest from Sydney, Shanghai and
Dubai.
"It's certainly damaged the image (but) we've been consistent in
saying we've no intention of going anywhere," Tiley said.
"Melbourne is the home of the Australian Open. It's supported not
only by our national visitors but also the visitors from outside the
state of Victoria."
Latests incident
The latests incident attracted strong condemnation from players such
as Roger Federer, Ana Ivanovic, Mario Ancic and Bosnian-American Amer
Delic, whose defeat to Serbia's Novak Djokovic preceded the violence.
Melbourne, Australia's second biggest city, is a cultural melting pot
and home to thousands of Serbs, Bosnians and Croatians who are sometimes
at odds over the 1990s Balkans war.
MELBOURNE, Sunday, AFP
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