A tennis fan who became a viral sensation for calling
Emma Raducanu 'Raddo' which seemed to give her the boost she needed in her opening match against Mananchaya Sawangkaew has gone from a hero to being thrown out of the
Australian Open.
James Bray who was the Aussie fan ironically with an Australia vest on who kept
shouting Raddo throughout the game was thrown out this past Friday. During Raducanu's on court interview before she was then beaten by Anastasia Potapova, she said that he was invited to every match going forward and to tell her or her agent and they'd sort it.
Albeit that open invite didn't last long on two ends as he was booted out and also Raducanu was soon beaten by Anastasia Potapova in a match that she would feel is a missed opportunity. Thank you to the support, I think it was incredible on both sides, and a particular shout-out to 'Raddo' apparently is my new nickname. You're invited for every match, just let me know, let my agent know, and you're here," she said at the time.
Raducanu then made a public appeal to track him down appearing to actually stay true to her word in the end and trying to get him back after the moment went viral. However his love for one of his home heroes saw him hoisted out. During Friday's action, he was seen as being 'too rowdy' during
Alex de Minaur's clash with Frances Tiafoe and he was told to leave.
He filmed police officers on his Instagram story who handed him a $700 fine although he avoided lengthy probation. He saw the humorous side despite the whopping bill and said on his story: "So we've got the police here, unfortunately I'm being kicked out of the
Australian Open because I've been too rowdy."
An officer than informed him that he was barred from returning for 24 hours. "Kicked out of the
Australian Open because I am a fan, thank you very much," he sarcastically said.
"I appreciate being kicked out of the
Australian Open for being an Australian Open fan, being a tennis fan," he continued on his story describing these events.
"This is hilarious, I've got the police force here taking me out," he added. "I feel like this guy [an
Australian Open security guard] doesn't want to do it, and that's fine.
$700 twice as superfan fined
"The police force is taking me out of the
Australian Open. I'm a big fan, no dramas. But the cops are here. It's quite fun, quite fun. Bit of a weird feeling, paid $700 for a ticket to the 'Demon' [de Minaur]. I feel like everything was going well.
"I was cheering him, not disrespectful, I wasn't cheering in between double faults or in between serves or nothing like that.
"I was just cheering on him like I would generally cheer on any Australian on any court. For some reason security came up to me and said: 'Sorry mate, you've been warned, you need to leave'.
"It was a bit of a weird one. I feel like I wasn't doing anything bad. Everyone around me was cheering. I wasn't being disrespectful, Tiafoe was playing well, Demon was playing well. Dunno, got kicked out. Security literally f***ing strong-armed me."
Albeit in the eyes of Tennis Australia, there was no smoke without fire. A spokesperson said as per
The Mirror: "Security received a number of complaints from fans in Rod Laver Arena last night relating to the disruptive behaviour of an individual in the crowd," they said. "Despite multiple warnings from staff, he refused to modify his behaviour and continued to disrupt those around him. Police were called to assist security speaking with the patron who disregarded advice to minimise his disruptive behaviour."