French Open streaker in court
2003-06-09 13:53
Paris - English serial streaker Mark Roberts is due to appear in court here this week after running onto the Philippe Chatrier centre court during Sunday's French Open men's singles final, police said.
The father of three from Liverpool, clad only in three strategically-placed tennis balls raced onto court during a second set changeover and leaped over the net before being frogmarched out of the arena by a bevy of security guards.
Police in Paris' chic 16th district, which borders Roland Garros, said on Monday that 39-year-old Roberts told them that he had already pulled the same stunt more than 300 times at venues around the world.
Police said that they were satisfied that Roberts "had no other motive than to show himself."
He was released and will appear in court at a date to be fixed in the coming days for exposing himself.
Roberts also struck during last year's Wimbledon men's singles final, and ran on to the pitch at Hampden Park, Glasgow, during the Champions League final.
Wearing nothing but a tartan 'See you Jimmy' hat, Roberts managed to dribble the ball from the halfway line and 'score' past Bayer Leverkusen's stunned goalkeeper Hans-Jorg Butt.
Roberts is understood to have amassed thousands of pounds in fines over the past eight years.
He has been banned from entering football grounds in England and Wales after running naked onto the pitch during the FA Cup final two years ago and was banned from travelling to the World Cup finals.
Three years ago he ran onto court at Wimbledon while Russian beauty Anna Kournikova was playing a doubles match.