POLICE evicted tennis fans from a tournament as the government declared a national emergency.
Play was taking place on Tuesday night at the Chile Open in Santiago.
XPlay was suspended at the Chile Open due to a massive power outage in the country[/caption]
XFans were evicted by the police when the 10pm curfew kicked in[/caption]
XThe stadium was plunged into darkness when the lights went out[/caption]
But disaster struck when the country suffered its worst power outage since 2010.
Officials stated approximately eight million homes and 14 of Chile’s 16 regions were impacted.
And that included the ATP 250 tournament in the capital.
The tennis event was able to carry on thanks to its own generators to provide electricity and light.
Two of the three scheduled matches on the main showcourt got completed.
However, the government imposed a 10pm until 6am curfew – with reports that there were even police on site to enforce the strict cut-off time.
So play had to be suspended at the end of the first set of Federico Coria’s clash with Tomas Barrios Vera while Francisco Comesana vs Felipe Meligeni Alves on Court 2 was also halted.
Coria dashed down the tunnel as the umpire confirmed over the tannoy that the tennis had to stop.
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And video footage from the centre court showed the spectators being forced out of the stands.
As they were doing so, though, the lights from the generator’s power went out – plunging the stadium and fans in total darkness.
The Chile Open said in a statement: “As a tournament, we are aware of the emergency that is developing in the country and the state of constitutional exception decreed by the government that will begin to take effect at 10pm.
“By instruction of the authorities, we suspended the match and evacuated the venue under strict security measures.”
Play is expected to resume at 2pm local time on Wednesday.
Tennis stars’ new careers
PLENTY of tennis stars have stayed involved in the sport since retiring.
But others pursued very different careers. Here are some of the best…
I reached French Open and Wimbledon finals as a teenager but I quit to become a nun
I won Wimbledon mixed doubles with my sister but got fed up with English weather so now run luxury B&B
I was tipped for stardom aged 12 but retrained to become high-flying lawyer
I earned £9m and won French Open before setting up bistro with Brazilian model girlfriend
I’m last Frenchman to win Roland Garros, now I’m singer with six albums hitting No1 in charts
I’m former world No1 but quit aged 29 – instead I went on to play professional poker and golf
I was destined for the top but swapped lobs for labs as award-winning Harvard physicist
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