French Open star breaks up fight in crowd and punishes both fans

For Jasmine Paolini, the fight was not over once she and Sara Errani had defeated Lulu Sun and Yue Yuan in the second round of doubles. The Italian star had to break up a pair of rowing fans in the crowd once she had tried to hand her match towel to supporters in the front row.

As has become customary at tennis matches, once the game comes to a close, the victor often hands out momentos to fans who have sat, or moved close to, their seat at the middle of the court.

Supporters can often be desperate to receive a towel, ball, or shirt, but this time tempers flared in the crowd after Paolini threw a towel into a group of spectators. Two people continued to grapple for the gift and security came over to try and calm the situation down.

However, Paolini intervened before security was able to diffuse the crowd, eventually ripping the towel back from both fans who had continued a lengthy tug-of-war, before punishing them both as she stormed to another section and handed the towel to a different supporter.

Paolini, 29, is one of few players left in both singles and doubles at the French Open. She and fellow Italian Errani will take on Beatriz Haddad Maiai and Laura Siegemund on Monday.

She will hope to still be in the singles competition by then, as she faces Elina Svitolina in the fourth round on the previous day, having come through against another Ukrainian player in Yuliia Starodubtseva.

before travelling to Roland Garros and hopes that going deep in two competitions in Rome will prepare her for success in Paris.

"I just came here trying to play a good tournament," she said after beating Ajla Tomijanovic in the second round. "Of course I played a lot in Rome, but it's a good problem to have. Just thinking about this tournament. What happened in Rome, somehow, for now, I have to forget and try to go good here."

Paolini has won nine singles matches in a row, a career best, having demolished lucky loser Starodubtseva to return to the second week at Roland Garros.

She needed just 69 minutes to down the world No. 81 and move into the last 16 for the fifth time in her last six Grand Slam events.

The victory set up a match against familiar face Svitolina, with the pair also clashing at the just a few months ago.

Svitolina upset Paolini 2-6 6-4 6-0 in the third round Down Under, but the Italian is clearly prepared to show her mettle after frustrating two clashing fans at the end of her match.