Roger Federer went into the French Open already in a position he doesn’t like: #2. He lost his #1 ranking to Spaniard Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open. Nonetheless, Federer went into the competition confident and ready to play. The newly-married tennis champion already had 14 Grand Slam Men’s Singles titles, and was looking to win the one that eluded him throughout his career: the French Open. With wife Mirka Vavrinek in the stands and his wedding ring safely locked up so he wouldn’t lose it while playing, Roger Federer was prepared for almost anything.
"Okay, everyone drink NOW!"
Having made it to the finals, Federer took the court against Swede Robin Soderling, taking the first set with relative ease. During the second set, however, some lunatic waving a flag from Barcelona’s soccer team jumped the barrier onto the court and ran at him. Reviewing the video, it seems that man was trying to put a cap on Federer’s head, probably another souvenir from the Barcelona soccer club. This was either the act of an insane person, or a drunken bet gone horribly awry.
Although tennis matches are not necessarily known for being places to get loaded, unlike, for example: baseball games, football games, soccer games, and every other sport on the planet. Except golf, maybe. Any sport at which fans are quiet by definition requires a level of sobriety. So maybe this guy broke the tradition and tossed back a few before hitting the French Open. Maybe he and his friends invented a drinking game in which every time a player grunts, they have to drink. Like the “Bob Newhart Show” drinking game, only in shorts. Fun guy. Or maybe he’s totally insane. Little is known yet.
Regardless, it shook up pretty much everyone else in the stadium who remembers the 1993 on-court stabbing of then-#1 women’s player Monica Seles. When the camera panned to Federer’s new wife, who is expecting their first child, she was visibly upset. Federer himself tried to shake it off, but the second set went much longer than the first, with Federer finally taking it 7-6. Taking the third set as well, Federer won his desired French Open title and tied Pete Sampras for the most Grand Slam Titles (14) and became the sixth man to complete a career Grand Slam. Not bad for a 27-year old.
As for the lunatic who was picked up and carried off of the court by security guards, he can maybe work on his game—probably soccer—in a jailhouse league of some kind?