And he ain't wearin' no clothes

Nude man invites public critique at Centre Court

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- For the second time in six years, a streaker got onto Centre Court during the Wimbledon men's final.

During a rain break with Lleyton Hewitt leading David Nalbandian 6-1, 1-0, a middle-aged man jumped onto the court, shed his clothes and shoes and did a little dance at the net.

The man did a pirouette, bowed, somersaulted over the net, flexed his muscles and pranced around as the spectators laughed.

The man was on the court for about two minutes before security officials reacted. He jumped over the net to evade the guards, before he was finally caught from behind by a female guard and escorted away with a red sheet around him.

Police identified the man as Mark Roberts, 37, a self-described "serial streaker" from Liverpool, in northern England. Roberts also streaked during a doubles match involving Anna Kournikova on Court 14 two years ago.

Hewitt and Nalbandian had just returned to the court after a 15-minute rain delay and were about to begin warming up when the streaker appeared.

In 1996, a female streaker ran across Centre Court just before the start of the final between Richard Krajicek and MaliVai Washington.

Sunday's incident was the second Centre Court security breach this year. During the first week, two men wearing white tennis clothes and carrying rackets eluded security and hit a ball back and forth for about 20 seconds. They walked off and left the complex without being apprehended.

The All England Club said in a statement that it was happy with security.

"Security had been reviewed, but it is always a tough compromise between containment and the great views and closeness to the court that spectators enjoy at Wimbledon," spokesman Johnny Perkins said.

"In this instance, it was quickly apparent there was no threat, but it would be a great shame if we have to put more permanent measures in place to prevent people from gaining access to the court."

In May, Roberts ran onto the field during the Champions League soccer final between Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen in Glasgow, Scotland.

Roberts has been banned from entering soccer stadiums in England after streaking during last year's FA Cup final at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. He was also banned from traveling to last month's World Cup.

 

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