NP Rank:
Roger Federer Attacked: Man Runs Onto Court in French Open Final
Tennis star Roger Federer dealt with an unwelcome visitor during his French Open final victory against Robin Soderling. During the match, a man ran onto the court and tried to place a red beret on Federer's head. Federer pushed the man aside, and the man then pranced around the court waving a Barcelona soccer team flag. The man was quickly tackled by security guards and escorted off the court.
Local police reported that the man was thrown in jail and may be charged with illegally entering a sports stadium.
Federer was unfazed by the incident. He went on to beat Soderling 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-4, giving the Swiss star his first French Open victory.
The Federer attack could have been much worse. The security breach reminded many tennis fans of the Monica Seles stabbing, which took place in Germany in 1993.
Update: It's been confirmed that the man who ran onto the court in the French Open men's final was Jaume Marquet Cot--aka Jimmy Jump--a prankster who has pulled similar stunts in the past. A native of the Catalan region of Spain, Jimmy Jump has interrupted many high-profile sporting events. Most famously, he ran onto the field during the Euro 2004 final between Greece and Portugal. As with the Federer attack, Jimmy Jump brandished a Barcelona flag, which he threw at Portuguese star Luis Figo, who left Barca to join rival Real Madrid in 2000. Jimmy Jump had a similar encounter with current Barca star Thierry Henry.
NowPublic on Facebook
Most Recommended Comment
Crowd Power
-
Jon Azpiri
Vancouver, Canada -
Perunotas
Peru
Recommendations (1)

Anonymous user











Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (2)
at 13:15 on June 7th, 2009
Here is the video of Monica Seles stabbing. Very sad.
I am glad that neither of the players was too distracted by the incident.
at 17:53 on June 13th, 2009
Lu Galasso as a fan of tennis and Roger Federer was appaled at the breach and lack of security at The French Open at Roland Garros Stadium for the Final Men's match.
Vic De Zen also a big fan of Roger Federer was very glad that nothing "evil" happened as in Monica Seles case years back and ended her carrer when a fan jumped on the court and stabbed her in the neck.
People, please take care of Roger and all the other athletes that entertain us and give us their all when they step on the courts.
Thank you.
By Lu Galasso
www.lugalasso.ca
www.lu-galasso.com
www.lugalasso.com