French Open semi-final suspended as female protester ties herself to net in middle of Cilic vs Ruud match
AN ENVIRONMENTAL protester briefly halted play at the French Open — by attaching herself to the NET. The second men’s singles semi-final between Marin Cilic and Casper Ruud was temporarily stopped after two hours of play and with the Norwegian leading 4-1 in the third set. A lone woman evaded security and ran onto the […]
AN ENVIRONMENTAL protester briefly halted play at the French Open — by attaching herself to the NET.
The second men’s singles semi-final between Marin Cilic and Casper Ruud was temporarily stopped after two hours of play and with the Norwegian leading 4-1 in the third set.
A lone woman evaded security and ran onto the red clay court where she swiftly hooked a brace to the corner of the net that was connected to her own necklace.
The pony-tailed woman was wearing denim jeans and a white t-shirt which said: ‘We have 1,028 days left.’
Former world No.1 Amelie Mauresmo, who has had a difficult few days as a rookie tournament director, watched on from the sidelines as security staff cut the strap and removed her from Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Both players had to leave the playing arena for about 5-10 minutes.
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It was a bizarre moment in what has been a long day in Paris with the first semi-final overshadowed by the abrupt retirement of Alex Zverev when he suffered significant ankle damage.
The star turned his ankle and screamed out in pain.
He was forced to leave the court in a wheelchair – although did return on crutches to say goodbye to the crowd and officially retire.
Actress Sienna Miller was one of those in the crowd who applauded him off.
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The protest incident brought back memories of people tying themself to goal posts in Premier League games.
Among them was a man who tied himself to a goal post at Goodison Park during Everton’s match with Newcastle in March.