'First time I've seen this': Players moved mid-match due to rowdy fans on neighbouring court

Australian Open organisers were forced to scramble and move a match during the first set due to rowdy fans on a nearby court.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Felix Auger-Aliassime were in the middle of their first set on Court 7 but were struggling to ignore the noise emanating from neighbouring Court 6.

It's believed the crowd was going wild as Lebanese player Hady Habib took on Hugo Humbert on Court 3. And on Court 6 - which features a courtside bar - French crowds gathered to watch Arthur Cazaux against Britain's Jacob Fearnley.

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The noise was so loud that Fokina and Auger-Aliassime were distracted during their own match.

With the score at 3-4 in the first set, the chair umpire was forced to ask if the players wanted to switch courts to move further away from the noise.

Organisers were able to find another court at Melbourne Park and the play continued.

Prominent tennis reporter Jose Morgado said "first time I've seen this".

Former player Daniela Hantuchova was also dumbfounded.

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"I was walking past the court and I could not believe the noise," she told Stan Sport's Grand Slam Daily.

"We talked about when Sania Mirza was bringing the Indian crowds in and in the past years we had the Swedes, we had the Argentinians, but this was like soccer with baseball and basketball combined.

"I mean it was so loud and of course when you play against a French guy, you have to expect that the French people get involved as well.

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"And actually the players, everyone that was outside, everyone was saying, the coaches, the players, like 'you guys, you have to go and see it yourself'.

"It was very special."

The match lasted close to five hours and ended up finishing at about 1.15am as Fokina overcame a two-set deficit to win 6-7(7), 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 and knock the No.29 seed Canadian out.

The court change was not the only inflammatory moment during the gruelling five-setter.

Fokina was given a time code violation in the fifth set and held up the match as he argued with the chair umpire.

The Spaniard then briefly refused to play out of protest.