Play has been halted on Rod Laver Arena, after Ana Ivanovic’s coach Nigel Sears collapsed during her third-round match with Madison Keys.

Sears is also Andy Murray’s father-in-law, and the Scotsman was playing on Margaret Court Arena during the incident.

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Channel 7 reported Sears, 58, was conscious and breathing as he was taken from the arena on a stretcher.

Murray’s brother Jamie said Sears was “conscious, talking and sitting up”.

Play was suspended, but after a 55-minute delay the match resumed at 8:45pm local time.

Murray was oblivious to the issue, with the second seed facing Portugal’s Joao Sousa when Sears was treated.

After his four-set win he departed the court quickly without a post-match interview.

Ivanovic left the court and was visibly concerned following Sears’ fall.

She returned to the court, but was beaten by Keys – 4-6 6-4 6-4.

Two days ago, Ivanovic was also left shaken when a patron fell down a flight of stairs during her Open win over Anastasija Sevastova.

Ivanovic was leading 4-3 in the first set when play was delayed for 26 minutes while the spectator received medical attention from a health professional in the crowd.

The players remained on court for most of the delay but were headed for the locker room when they were advised to return as the fan was taken from the area on a stretcher.

“I felt really bad, I was actually shaking, because the sound of the lady falling was really loud … I stopped immediately,” Ivanovic said on Thursday.

“Maybe it’s not a good tendency to think of the worst but it didn’t sound so good.”

Bernard Tomic’s first-round match against Denis Istomin was also delayed for more than 20 minutes while a woman received medical treatment in the crowd at Hisense Arena.

“It was a very difficult situation to be in … even the referee I spoke to said it never happened before,” Tomic said.

“At one stage, I was looking directly at the lady. It was not a good moment … I felt very sad.”

Murray’s wife Kim Sears is due to give birth in February.

The Scot has said he would leave Melbourne mid-tournament should Sears go into premature labour.