A man has been charged with murdering his wife after she disturbed him watching tennis on television.

Prosecutors at a Tel Aviv court accused Moisei Beiniashvilli, 76, of using a hammer and wooden chopping board to attack Malka on January 31.

The defendant was watching the Australian Open tennis tournament when his wife disturbed him, at which point he took a chopping board and hit her over the head with it several times, the court heard.

Neighbours and those who allegedly heard Mrs Beiniashvilli’s screams through a nearby open window called the police and, it is claimed, pleaded with her husband to stop the attack.

After the victim took the chopping board from Mr Beiniashvilli and threw it out the open window, he seized a hammer and struck her, causing wounds which she died from three days later in a Tel Aviv hospital, the court heard.

The husband was arrested by police when they reached the flat in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bat Yam. The prosecution is attempting to deny him bail.

The final of the Australian Open, between British player Andy Murray and eventual winner Novak Djokovic, was played on January 31.