Opposing Fans Brawl on Grounds of Australian Open

The tennis might have been pretty at the Australian Open Tuesday, but the action after play was over turned pretty ugly.

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Serbian and Croatian fans scuffle in Garden Square on day one of the Australian Open 2007 at Melbourne Park on January 15, 2007 in Melbourne, Australia.

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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 22: Mark Knowles of the Bahamas and Mahesh Bhupathi of India talk tactics in their first round doubles match against Mikhail Youzhny of Russia and Mischa Zverev of Germany during day four of the 2009 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 22, 2009 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Lucas Dawson/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Mark Knowles;Mahesh Bhupathi

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Gilles Simon of France hits a return during his Men's singles match against Chris Guccione of Australia at the Australian Open Tennis Championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Rick Stevens)

Richard Gasquet of France reacts after winning his Men's singles match against Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan at the Australian Open Tennis Championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Fernando Gonzalez of Chile reacts after defeating Guillermo Canas of Argentina in their men's singles tennis match on the fourth day of the Australian Open in Melbourne on January 22, 2009. Chilean 13th seed Fernando Gonzalez sped past Argentina's Guillermo Canas in a heavyweight South American battle to reach the Australian Open third round. The 2007 finalist out-punched Canas in a tight first set before winning 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 19 minutes, setting up a clash with French 24th seed Richard Gasquet. AFP PHOTO / TORSTEN BLACKWOOD (Photo credit should read TORSTEN BLACKWOOD/AFP/Getty Images)

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Virginie Razzano of France gestures after winning a point during her women's singles match against Patty Schnyder of Switzerland at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 22, 2009. Razzano won 6-3, 6-1. .AFP PHOTO/William WEST (Photo credit should read WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images)

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Virginie Razzano of France plays a return stroke during her women's singles match against Patty Schnyder of Switzerland at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 22, 2009. Razzano won 6-3, 6-1. .AFP PHOTO/William WEST (Photo credit should read WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images)

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Chris Guccione of Australia acknowleges the crowd after being defeated by Gilles Simon of France in their men's singles tennis match on the fourth day of the Australian Open in Melbourne on January 22, 2009. Simon won 6-7, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2. AFP PHOTO / GREG WOOD (Photo credit should read GREG WOOD/AFP/Getty Images)

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Gilles Simon of France acknowleges the crowd after defeating Chris Guccione of Australia in their men's singles tennis match on the fourth day of the Australian Open in Melbourne on January 22, 2009. Simon won 6-7, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2. AFP PHOTO / GREG WOOD (Photo credit should read GREG WOOD/AFP/Getty Images)

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Croatian Marin Cilic defeated Serbian Janko Tipsarevic in four sets during round two, but the bigger story came when fans from both sides got so violent towards each other that cops had to be brought into Court Two and the brawl ended up spilling out into the Garden Square.

The two groups faced off, hurling chants and shouting abuse. The situation only was defused when police, who had been discreetly positioned around the arena, moved them on.

Punches later were thrown in a scuffle near a packed bar. Both groups, wearing national colors, then continued to march around Melbourne Park in large packs. A repeat of the out-of-control brawl in 2007 did not eventuate.

As scary as this one was, one player is worried it could get worse. Bosnian-born player Amer Delic is facing off against third-ranked Novak Djokovic and is pleading with his fans to just be chill and not bring all the political tension to the tennis arena.

"I'm just hoping in the next match with Novak that it doesn't turn in to World War III," he said. "I am going to try and tell my fans that we don't need to be embarrassing ourselves in the eyes of the world."

Sometimes, as an American, I forget how intense things can get when these nations meet in anything, be it tennis or cricket or just hanging out at a bar. While Steelers fans might hate the Ravens, it isn't like they're marching around with political chips on their shoulders, actually hating the people that support a squad from Baltimore.

This stuff appears to be too serious for the sports world, and we can only hope that they avoid making it bigger than the game itself.