The second singles match in the Davis Cup final was halted at a crucial when a fan in the stands was taken “unwell”. Italy’s Flavio Cobolli was attempting to break Jaume Munar’s serve when there was a commotion in the stands, and Cobolli realised there was an issue with a spectator.

Munar had raced through the first set 6-1 and was a break up in the second set when Cobolli gave himself a chance to break back. But the game was stopped and both players quickly headed to their benches as first-aiders were called to the stands.

Commentator Arvind Parmar was sitting courtside and commended Cobolli for taking action. He said: “I’ve got a good few of that, just sitting opposite that stand actually. Someone has become unwell up there, so the crowd was very, very quick to make a little extra noise up there, and Flavio spotted it straight away, so hopefully that person gets some help ASAP.

“It’s probably in the top two rows of the stand. It’s not too frantic up there; they are kind of looking over the person quite calmly, and I can just see some officials, first raiders, just getting to that person. So help has arrived.”

Umpire Marijana Veljovic got off her chair and convened with the players and captains on the court. Italian captain Filippo Volandri used the delay to give some words of advice to Cobolli, who had struggled in the first eight games.

The spectator was eventually removed from the stands as Parmar explained: “If that person needs to be removed then there’s going to be a bit of a lengthy delay to get that person down and into safety. I can see a stretcher sort of being moved around a bit, not saying that person is going to be put on that stretcher but it is up there so there is that possibility of that person having to come down the stairs on that stretcher.

“I can tell you this person is going to be removed because that top row has just shifted out of the way to make room for that person to come down the stairs, so there is still going to be a good few minutes here before play resumes.”

They were eventually safely removed from the SuperTennis Arena and co-commentator Nick Lester told viewers: “Good news is the individual who was unwell is now being escorted out, and the medics are firmly on hand, so we wish him or her all the best.”

Play resumed after a delay of around 10 minutes, and the break seemed to be exactly what Cobolli needed. He went on to break Munar and levelled the score at 1-1 early in the second set. The world No. 22 has yet to lose a match at this week’s Davis Cup Finals. He beat Austria’s Filip Misolic in the quarter-finals and Zizou Bergs in the semi-final against Belgium, saving seven match points.

Italy came into the second singles rubber with a 1-0 lead over Spain after Matteo Berrettini beat Pablo Carreno Busta. A win for Cobolli would allow Italy to become the first team to win the Davis Cup three years in a row since the USA clinched five consecutive titles from 1968 to 1972 – before the ‘Challenge rounds’ were introduced. A win for Munar would take the tie to a decisive doubles rubber.