Intruder Approaches Federer During French Open Final
A man jumped onto Court Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros early in the second set of the 2009 French Open Men’s Final and he ran towards Roger Federer waving what appeared to be an FC Barcelona red flag. The man was on the court for at least ten seconds before the security guards approached him while he was attempting to place a hat on Federer’s head. It was very disturbing… and it was scary… on many levels. Federer said after the match
that he has experienced fans bursting onto his court during a match a couple times in the past and so he didn’t panic, but that doesn’t make the intrusion any less frightening. Tennis fans remember the streakers on Centre Court at Wimbledon, as well as the horrible attack on Monica Seles in Hamburg, Germany. This latest incident illustrates how vulnerable top tennis players still are while they compete on major stadium courts. At the same time, the slow, uncoordinated and somewhat ineffectual response by the French Open security men was far from impressive. Instead, it indicated that little has been learned about how to handle these situations sixteen years after Monica Seles was dealt a devastating, career-changing stab in the back. Why was the man so easily able to run onto the court? Why did it take so long for the security men to appear? Why did they seem so generally clueless in subduing the man as he ran around the court and then jumped the net to Soderling’s side of the court? Hasn’t this situation been addressed in security planning meetings where appropriate responses for various scenarios such as this are discussed and staged? Clearly, tennis officials need to review, yet again, security at tournaments and especially inside major stadium courts to ensure the safety and well-being of the tennis players and fans. Wimbledon begins in two weeks…
|| Comments (0)
