There were chants and songs and yells and applause and foot-stomps. So at 4-3 in the first set, Davidovich Fokina and Auger-Aliassime spoke with the chair umpire about what was happening.
The chair umpire called a tournament supervisor and play was delayed for more than 15 minutes.
Eventually, the crowd was told: “Ladies and gentlemen, the match is now suspended on this court and will move to Court 7 in just a few minutes.” And the two players packed up and headed over to the new site, where Davidovich Fokina completed his 6-7 (7), 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 comeback victory.
The two-level bar at Court 6 was introduced last year and, while popular with spectators, it has been met with divided opinion from players.
Fearnley, who plays No. 2-seeded Alexander Zverev in the third round, said that eventually he got used to the way the place felt.
“As I kind of settled into the match, I kind of blocked it out as much as I could,” Fearnley said. “Obviously there was some supporters who were extremely drunk, but it was a great atmosphere. Amazing atmosphere.”
