That’s because what happened immediately afterward stole the show. A random kid jumped onto the court as Federer was making his way out and started badgering the 17-time Grand Slam champion to pause for a selfie. A confused Fererer obviously declined. But the kid lingered…and lingered…and lingered some more.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3ybTifTBpU]
Say what you will about the U.S. Open and all of its controversial scheduling procedures and alleged failures to deal with rain, but these kind of shenanigans would never happen in New York. The kid would have been body-slammed to the ground no more than a second or two after slithering his way onto the court inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. He then would have been forcefully dragged into the tunnel, never to be seen or heard from again.
But not this kid. Not at Roland Garros.
After finally giving up on a picture with Federer despite nothing more than one random person softly telling him to leave, the kid proceeding to walk all the way around the red clay. Not once was he confronted by any kind of security person–or any person in general.
“I’m not happy about it–obviously not for one second am I happy about it,” Federer said during his press conference. “It happened yesterday in the practice, too. It’s just a kid, but then three more kids came. And today on center court where you would think this is a place where nobody can come on, he just wanders on and nothing happens. Normally I only speak on behalf of myself, but in this situation I think I can speak on behalf of all the players, that where you do your job, that’s where you want to feel safe.
“I definitely think something needs to happen quickly.”
Federer better not hold his breath. After all, the chances of something happening quickly are slim; maybe even none. In fact, tournament director Gilbert Ysern even commented that the incident is “not the end of the world” and “there is no reason for us to change security procedures.”
But why should we be surprised about those flippant remarks? This kind of stuff has been going on for many years in Paris. In the 2009 final between Federer and Robin Soderling, a crazy fan got on the court and tried to drape a flag over the Swiss’ head. The 2013 final between Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer was delayed when a lunatic protester ran onto the court with a flare.
The French folks seem to be of the opinion that none of this matters until someone gets hurt. That, of course, is when the time for legitimate security will be far too late.
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Let’s see where we are with the French Open so far:
1. Security: a farce, still;
2. Match scheduling: brazen favouritism at its best (or worst, take your pick);
3. Tournament site: gauche, a bordello’s site couldn’t compete;
4. Website content: debauched, exhibit A: tabloid-style article on Wawa’s personal life, subsequently pulled down after vehement protest from concerned player, exhibit B: crowing article about the lack of success of Spanish speaking players during qualifying.
Report card:
Poor, 4/10, need to try harder.
At least they have:
5. An impeccable record in their treatment of the one who put RG on the map the most times so far (9). Birthday cake, Vermeil price. Scratch that: price was from the city not from RG. Ok: Birthday cake. What’s not to like?
Rafa is also awarded by French police! 🙂
http://www.tennisworldusa.org/Rafael-Nadal-has-been-awarded-French-police-badge-articolo9433.html
all of this is accurate. website TERRIBLE.
There are some security concerns at the French open. I do remember 1 such incident from the 2009 French open final.
The author of the article says:
—these kind of shenanigans would never happen in New York—-
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It’s difficult to believe that nothing can happen at the US Open. This happened in 2009:
“Rafael Nadal’s US Open Kiss”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDSUsQbS6BQ
That video explains a lot.
autofilter the poster who is brave with innuendo and intolerance.
Very disappointed in the French reaction to that security breach….that is just not acceptable at a Major, or at any ATP level tour event. Security has got to be a lot more vigilant. Allons-y!
With Roger’s incident the other what came to mind immediately is Monica Seles’ stabing. This is why he and others are right the be concerned and demand much improved security.
That’s the first thing that came into my mind. I don’t know that I will ever forget that. Fed and all the players should be concerned because you don’t know who is out there and what they might do. This guy meant no harm, but that’s not really the point.
French open is also not paying as well as the other majors. Last year at the US open Cilic won $ 3 million and Serena won $ 3 million winners check + $ 1 million bonus for winning the US Open series. This year’s french open winners take home $ 1.97 million.