It was the final of the 2009 French Open and Roger Federer was up against Robin Soderling when an intruder made an unwanted entry in the court.
The intruder identified himself as ‘Jimmy Jump’ and was dressed in Swiss colors. He entered the play area hopping over the wall in the second set when Federer was serving at (15*-0) and tried to wrap a flag around Federer’s head. He was then pinned down by the security.
Later Federer admitted that he was scared as he saw the man close to him all of a sudden and he had no idea what the intruder wanted from him.
This guy, I don’t know, he looked at me and I was not sure what he wanted…..He wanted to give me something. So, I was actually okay, because I saw he wasn’t pulling for anything stupid.
– Roger Federer in an interview
But, Federer was not much worried as he had past experiences of intruders in his matches. In the 2006 Wimbledon Open, two men came with rackets and balls during Federer’s quarterfinal match. It also happened once in Montreal when Federer was playing against Andy Roddick.
Federer went on to win the Title in straight sets and complete his Career Grand Slam but the distraction did hamper Federer’s momentum in the second set.
‘Don’t touch me’- Roger Federer to intruder at Montreal
Roger Federer has dealt with a number of intruders and experienced that they always have a clear intention when they disrupt their matches.
One such incident happened when Roger Federer was playing against Andy Roddick for the No.1 spot in Montreal and an intruder came on the court.
It happened in Wimbledon before when two guys ran out on the court, and once I think it was Montreal when I lost to Roddick when I was playing for my No.1 ranking in the third set.
I remember the English guy was actually quite funny. He looked at me and goes, I’m so sorry I have to do this. I was like ‘Okay, just dont touch me, you know.’
– Roger Federer in an interview
