Sears coaches Ana Ivanovic and was in the stands watching her match with Madison Keys when had to be stretchered away.
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The chair umpire suspended play, and the news got through on social media to Murray’s court, Margaret Court Arena.
The Press Association also reported that Jamie Murray, brother of Andy, said that Sears was sitting up and talking after arriving in hopsital.
Murray’s wife Kim is not in Australia as she is due to give birth to the couple’s first child next month.
On Thursday, Ivanovic’s second-round match with Anastasja Sevastova was delayed for 30 minutes when a woman fell down the some stairs in the same stadium and was taken away on a stretcher in a neck brace.
Organisers said the players had been given the opportunity to consult with their teams before play was resumed.
The Scot is coming off a 6-0 6-4 6-1 win over big-serving Aussie Sam Groth – a match that saw the No. 2 seed produce a highlight reel of superb passing shots and lobs.
When he left the court following his 6-2 3-6 6-2 6-2 victory against Portugal’s Joao Sousa, he was pulled aside by his mother and went directly to the hospital. “It’s going to be a tough match”, said Keys, who came into the opening Grand Slam of the year carrying an elbow injury. Her next match is against 2015 semifinalist Ekaterina Makarova, who had a 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 9 Karolina Pliskova.
After his win over Viktor Troicki on Saturday, the 25-year-old Canadian said, “Today, before I stepped out on court it was a hard day back home”.
But when Murray appears most exasperated he often produces his most inspired tennis – and that was the case in the third set, as he used his superior touch, craft and speed to outmanoeuvre Sousa. Ivanovic, the 2008 finalist, lost in three sets after holding leads in both the second and the third after winning the first.
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Towering American John Isner thundered 44 aces as he outlasted Feliciano Lopez 6-7 (8/10), 7-6 (7/5), 6-2, 6-4 to set up a last-16 clash with David Ferrer, who beat Steve Johnson 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.
