onto the court and shook hands with Cilic, in front of the umpire's chair, right after Cilic had shaken Murray's hand. The man then walked a bit on the court before he was grabbed by a security guard and escorted off the court. What's most distressing is how long the man was on the court before he was even approached by a security guard - more than 30 seconds...

Why is it seemingly so difficult for Grand Slam tennis tournament officials to not only prevent people from walking onto the court and approaching tennis players, but also take SO long for security personnel to actually apprehend these trespassers and remove them from the court? At the 2009 French Open, Roger Federer was approached by a man who attempted to put a hat on his head. At the 2009 U.S. Open, Rafael Nadal was a kissed on the cheek by a man who approached him at his chair as Rafa changed shirts after a match. Fortunately, each of these incidents was relatively harmless. Nonetheless, almost 17 years after a deranged fan stabbed Monica Seles in the back in Germany, security at professional tennis tournaments remains a grave concern. Somehow, the tennis world needs to review the security for rock stars, presidents and other celebrities so that these incidents at Grand Slams don't happen... Three times in twelve months indicates there is a serious weakness in the current security plans.

UPDATE: According to press reports on Friday, "The man, 22, from Melbourne, would be 'charged on summons with disrupting proceedings and unauthorized entry to an arena,' a police spokesman said in a statement.

Posted by TC at 11:34 PM || Comments (1)