Times when hecklers got their comeuppance: featuring a man in a skirt

Tennis Features

Tennis365
June 13, 2018

We look at times when hecklers and fans got more than they bargained for at tennis matches.

A heckler was left with a red-face at Roland Garros 2018 when Juan Martin del Potro confronted him during his quarter-final clash against Marin Cilic.

Del Potro= ??
That fan= ?? @DelPotroJuan confronts a fan in the crowd after remarks were made in the middle of a serve.
What was said? #RG18 pic.twitter.com/Rj8i0oq4bH

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) June 7, 2018

Here are other examples heckler and fan being either a nuisance or providing some laughter at tennis matches.

Entertainer’s “f—ing next level” video not really funny
At the start of the year, a fan was ejected from the Australian Open after his bizarre screams during Nick Kyrgios’ second-round clash with Viktor Troicki.

“The guy in the crowd was crazy,” Kyrgios was quoted in the Herald Sun after the match. And you have to agree with him.

It turns out the “crazy” guy was an “entertainer” who claimed before the match that he “just thought of a really funny thing to do for a video, and it’s pretty f—ing next level”.

It was neither funny nor “f—ing next level”.

Don’t disturb Kyrgios take two
Kyrgios took on Andy Murray at the Hopman Cup in 2016 and someone in the crowd yelled “You are playing tennis, not squash!”

The Australian hit back by asking: “Are you playing? Do you want to come down here and play? You just sit in your comfy chair. You just sit in your comfy seat and watch.”

Novak Djokovic takes on a fan at the 2012 Rogers Cup
You can just feel the fan wanting the ground to open up swallow him in when Djokovic asks him if he “came here to provoke”.

Bernard Tomic gets annoyed by his father at 2012 Miami Open
Bernard Tomic is never one to shy away from controversy. He will ask for you to be removed from the stands even if you are his father.

“He’s annoying. I know he’s my father but he’s annoying me. I want him to leave but how’s that possible?”

Sometimes the fans just fight among themselves
Novak Djokovic was taking on Philipp Petzschner in the second round of the US Open in 2010 when a couple of fans started fighting in the stands.

Plenty of pointing going on and then a bit of a scuffle late on in the video.

“Security! Security! Security! Throw ’em both out!”

Wimbledon heckler forced to wear Kim Clijsters’ skirt
Chris Quinn became a bit of an internet celebrity after his heckling during the Wimbledon 2017 ladies’ invitation doubles match.

Instead of getting angry at the heckler, Clijsters forced the portly Quinn to squeeze into her skirt and play a few shots.

“I need a new tennis outfit now I guess… Definitely a man’s one this time,” Quinn later posted on Facebook. “Got to keep the skirt too.”

Mirka Federer gets a bit too involved
Roger Federer’s wife Mirka apparently called Stan Wawrinka a “cry baby” during their ATP Tour Finals match in London in 2014.

Stan wasn’t very happy, but Mirka didn’t get her comeuppance.