Court invader at Australian Open faces charges

A man who invaded the Rod Laver Arena court at the end of the Australian Open semi-final between Briton Andy Murray and Croatian Marin Cilic on Thursday night will face police charges.

A man wearing a shirt emblazoned with Croatian colours invaded the court just after the players finished their match, and  approached Cilic as he was preparing to shake the chair umpire's hand.

After shaking Cilic's hand, the man was intercepted and escorted off the court.

Cilic later played down the incident, but the embarrassing security breach has thrown the spotlight on security at the Australian grand slam. 

The man, 22, from Melbourne, would be "charged on summons with disrupting proceedings and unauthorised entry to an arena," a police spokesman said in a statement on Friday.

Tennis Australia described the incident as "a major breach of security and completely unsatisfactory."

"A thorough investigation has been undertaken and appropriate measures will be implemented," the governing body said in a statement. Players still remain vulnerable to crowd invasions despite pledges by tournament organisers to bolster security after Monica Seles was stabbed in the back by a Steffi Graf fan in a Hamburg tournament in 1993.

A man was charged after he invaded the court at Arthur Ashe stadium at the US Open last year to kiss Spain's Rafa Nadal on the cheek. 

World number one Roger Federer was unnerved when a spectator jumped from the stands and tried to put a hat on his head during the final of the French Open.