"Normally, I only speak on behalf of myself, but in this situation I think I can speak on behalf of all the players; that's where you do your job [on the tennis court]. That's where you want to feel safe. And so clearly, I'm not happy about it."
-- Roger Federer, on the ease with which a brazen fan ran out onto court Philippe Chatrier and prevailed upon the No. 2 French Open seed to pose for a selfie.
It was bad enough that the patron in question, besotted and well-intentioned a fan as he might be, was boneheaded enough to run out onto the court after Federer dispatched Alejandro Falla in his first match at Roland Garros.
It was also unfortunate that just the day before, a different youngster, trailed by three of his garcons, was also bold enough to pester the all-time Grand Slam champion while he was in the midst of a pre-tournament practice session.
But what's really appalling is that the security establishment at Roland Garros did absolutely nothing about these invasions on the court -- and Federer's privacy. Why doesn't the French Tennis Federation (FTF) just pull those messages along the Peripherique warning against texting while driving and put up a billboard inviting motorists to stop by Roland Garros, find Federer and take a selfie with him?
In all fairness, the security folks and their overseers at the tournament did not know of the first incident -- and Federer himself didn't report it. But clearly the second incident was highly visible and the imprudent kid was allowed to just walk. Vive la liberte and all that, but it didn't take long for people, including Federer, to start talking Monica Seles on Sunday.
Seles had eight Grand Slam titles before her 20th birthday. She was on track to shatter WTA records when that ambition was ruined by a deranged Steffi Graf fan in April 1993. He plunged a boning knife with a nine-inch blade into her back as she sat during a changeover at a tournament in Hamburg, and Seles was never the same player after that.
The response was swift, and security at many tournaments became more visible. But over time, complacency set in. And realistically, tennis is famous partly for the chance it offers fans to rub shoulders with the players. The French, though, seem to be overly cavalier about security issues despite having had a few memorable incidents in recent years (including yet another one involving Federer in the 2009 final).
"I know that on these courts, people are really close to the courts," Federer added, after French Open tournament director Gilbert Ysern apologized for the incident. "It's easy to jump above and be on the courts. I don't know what we should do, what we should do to avoid these things. But it's the reaction."
In other words, an apology isn't what he was looking for. Punishment of the offender might have sent a better message.