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| Andy Murray stays cool after French Open security breach | Andy Murray stays cool after French Open security breach |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Andy Murray and João Sousa step on to court for the second round of the 2015 French Open on Thursdayand will fear each other’s weapons above any that might be lurking in the crowd. They are, after all, professional athletes who entrust their security to those who are paid for that task but who were found sadly wanting crhere this week. | |
| When an over-eager fan broke through security at Roland Garros on Sunday to grab a photograph alongside Roger Federer on Court Philippe Chatrier, palms began to sweat and hearts beat a little faster. Fans gasped and the Swiss was not happy, nor were the tournament organisers nor the slumbering security operatives, although the tournament director, Gilbert Ysern, maintained an insouciant air at the press conference that followed. It was not, he said, “the end of the world”. | When an over-eager fan broke through security at Roland Garros on Sunday to grab a photograph alongside Roger Federer on Court Philippe Chatrier, palms began to sweat and hearts beat a little faster. Fans gasped and the Swiss was not happy, nor were the tournament organisers nor the slumbering security operatives, although the tournament director, Gilbert Ysern, maintained an insouciant air at the press conference that followed. It was not, he said, “the end of the world”. |
| Well spotted, M Yverns – but it could have been ugly. As was pointed out to him, we were at a significant public gathering in the city where 17 people died in a terror attack only four months ago, and the streets of France’s capital are still rammed with police officers – les flics – most of them bearing heavy weapons. He was unmoved. | Well spotted, M Yverns – but it could have been ugly. As was pointed out to him, we were at a significant public gathering in the city where 17 people died in a terror attack only four months ago, and the streets of France’s capital are still rammed with police officers – les flics – most of them bearing heavy weapons. He was unmoved. |
| Related: Serena Williams beats Andrea Hlavackova in French Open first round | |
| So too, in a more acceptable way, is Murray. The Scot has always ‘done good crowd’. When he won the Olympic gold medal at Wimbledon in 2012 Henry Caplan, an 11-year-old Essex schoolboy, tumbled over the seats to grab his hero for an embrace on the player’s most sunlit afternoon to that point. | |
| Since the unstoppable growth of the selfie phenomenon, Murray has been similarly accommodating. He also is vocal from the bench during Great Britain’s Davis Cup matches and was in his brother’s box at Wimbledon in 2007 when Jamie won the mixed doubles with Jelena Jankovic. Murray revealed on Tuesday he has often quietly snuck on to court to check on the progress of players he regards as friends. | Since the unstoppable growth of the selfie phenomenon, Murray has been similarly accommodating. He also is vocal from the bench during Great Britain’s Davis Cup matches and was in his brother’s box at Wimbledon in 2007 when Jamie won the mixed doubles with Jelena Jankovic. Murray revealed on Tuesday he has often quietly snuck on to court to check on the progress of players he regards as friends. |
| And there he was on a packed Court 7 on Monday night, screaming his head off alongside British fans for Kyle Edmund against Stéphane Robert, not long after warming down from his win over Facundo Argüello on Court Philippe Chatrier. It is not something one could imagine Federer – or many other players – doing. | And there he was on a packed Court 7 on Monday night, screaming his head off alongside British fans for Kyle Edmund against Stéphane Robert, not long after warming down from his win over Facundo Argüello on Court Philippe Chatrier. It is not something one could imagine Federer – or many other players – doing. |
| Related: Eugenie Bouchard exits French Open at hands of Kristina Mladenovic | |
| “I have genuinely never actually been concerned,” he said on Tuesday night. “I have never been in a situation where I have actually freaked out. But sometimes I do, when I am on my own, think: ‘Wow, there are so many people there. What if someone really doesn’t like you?’ It is possible.” | “I have genuinely never actually been concerned,” he said on Tuesday night. “I have never been in a situation where I have actually freaked out. But sometimes I do, when I am on my own, think: ‘Wow, there are so many people there. What if someone really doesn’t like you?’ It is possible.” |
| A casual trawl of blogs and websites reveal the dregs of the Anyone-But-Murray brigade still peddle their bile, although Murray has steadily won over a vast army of doubters and sceptics with his amiable personality, not to mention his excellence on the court. And while he appreciates the love, he remains a little wary in the more confined context of on-court security. | A casual trawl of blogs and websites reveal the dregs of the Anyone-But-Murray brigade still peddle their bile, although Murray has steadily won over a vast army of doubters and sceptics with his amiable personality, not to mention his excellence on the court. And while he appreciates the love, he remains a little wary in the more confined context of on-court security. |
| “You saw what happened with Monica Seles [who was stabbed on court during a match in Hamburg in 1993 and did not play again for two years]. It is very rare but these things are not impossible, so it is important that security look after the players. But it is one of the nice things about tennis as well, at the practice courts and most of the events, and getting to and from practice. | “You saw what happened with Monica Seles [who was stabbed on court during a match in Hamburg in 1993 and did not play again for two years]. It is very rare but these things are not impossible, so it is important that security look after the players. But it is one of the nice things about tennis as well, at the practice courts and most of the events, and getting to and from practice. |
| “The fans do get access to the players at a lot of the events. But if someone is leaping down on to the court, then you never know why they are doing it or who they are, so we just have to be looked after.” | “The fans do get access to the players at a lot of the events. But if someone is leaping down on to the court, then you never know why they are doing it or who they are, so we just have to be looked after.” |
| Related: Novak Djokovic survives mid-match wobble to see off Jarkko Nieminen | |
| He is happy, meanwhile, to be looking up from court to see Mrs Kim Murray, now his wife, looking down for the first time. Is it a comfort to have her there? | He is happy, meanwhile, to be looking up from court to see Mrs Kim Murray, now his wife, looking down for the first time. Is it a comfort to have her there? |
| “I am not sure I have any other choice than to answer ‘yes’ to that question,” he said. “It is nice. When you are spending a lot of time in one place it feels a bit like Groundhog Day sometimes. She wasn’t here at the beginning. She arrived on Friday evening and it is good. During the evening she can go out and do stuff and obviously you have a bunch of people, friends and people you work with, at the major events. It is good to see different faces some of the times because otherwise it can get a bit boring.” | “I am not sure I have any other choice than to answer ‘yes’ to that question,” he said. “It is nice. When you are spending a lot of time in one place it feels a bit like Groundhog Day sometimes. She wasn’t here at the beginning. She arrived on Friday evening and it is good. During the evening she can go out and do stuff and obviously you have a bunch of people, friends and people you work with, at the major events. It is good to see different faces some of the times because otherwise it can get a bit boring.” |
| If he is bored looking at his trainer Matt Little and other members of the tightly knit entourage, he will be as alert as a fox when facing the Portuguese Sousa, who brought all his hitherto scattered potential to bear against the Canadian Vasek Pospisil on his way to a solid 6-3, 7-6, 6-1 win in an hour and 54 minutes. | If he is bored looking at his trainer Matt Little and other members of the tightly knit entourage, he will be as alert as a fox when facing the Portuguese Sousa, who brought all his hitherto scattered potential to bear against the Canadian Vasek Pospisil on his way to a solid 6-3, 7-6, 6-1 win in an hour and 54 minutes. |
| “I feel confidence for the match with Andy,” Sousa said. “I played him [five] times, never on clay.” | “I feel confidence for the match with Andy,” Sousa said. “I played him [five] times, never on clay.” |
| And, as for security, he added: “I think Roger has it right: we have to feel protected. Roger is a celebrity and a lot of people want a picture or an autograph from him. But these kind of things should not happen.” | And, as for security, he added: “I think Roger has it right: we have to feel protected. Roger is a celebrity and a lot of people want a picture or an autograph from him. But these kind of things should not happen.” |