Paris:
To attract the attention on the grave issue of the time, climate change, an environmental activist broke into Philippe-Chatrier court on Friday and interrupted the French Open semi-final between Norwegian star Casper Ruud and Croatian Marin Cilic.
The activist was wearing a white T-shirt with a message written on it, “we have 1028 days left.” She jumped the stands, kneeled on the court and tied herself to the net with metal wires and glue.
The security officers did not rush to her in jiffy, instead spread out around the court and carefully walked towards her to inspect what material she had used to tie herself. Later, she was removed from the court after the activist remained of court for several minutes.
Explaining the inciden, the French Tennis Federation said, “The young woman, of French nationality, entered the grounds with a valid ticket early in the day.”
Organisers added: “The young woman, of French nationality, entered the grounds with a valid ticket early in the day. “She was then handed over to the police.”
The shirt represents a climate change activism group in France. They carried her off of Court Philippe-Chatrier. Ruud and Cilic were also escorted off the court into the locker room until security made sure the court was safe again. The match resumed after a 15-minute delay.
Ruud, after losing the first set, packed his stamina and went to attack Cilic after the game, displaying a variety of his shots. With this match, Ruud became the first Norwegian man to reach a Grand Slam final on Friday when he set up a French Open title clash with 13-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal.
“When it comes to this protest, it was a little bit, what should I say, nasty is maybe a good word, because I didn’t really know how to react to it,” Ruud told reporters after his victory.
“It was a little bit tricky and difficult situation. Never happened to me before. So we were taken outside for six, seven minutes and I got to regroup a little bit and got my flow going again.”
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