Andy Murray insists tennis fans should not be pushed away

Andy Murray

Paris, May 27 (IANS)

Tennis ace Andy Murray on Wednesday urged the game's authorities to not overreact to recent security breaches by pushing the fans away.

Since the stabbing of Monica Seles on court in Hamburg in 1993, tennis authorities have been very careful to keep spectators at arms' length.

However, on the opening day of the French Open a young fan was allowed on court as he went up to Roger Federer for a photograph before being finally arrested and the Swiss reacting angrily on the incident.

The fans do get access to the players at a lot of the events: Murray

"I have genuinely never actually been concerned. I have never been in a situation where I have actually freaked out. But it is one of the nice things about tennis as well, at the practice courts and most of the events, and getting to and from practice, the fans do get access to the players at a lot of the events," Murray was quoted as saying by dailystar.co.uk.

"That said, if someone is leaping down onto the court then you never know why they are doing it, or who they are or whatever, so we just have to be looked after," the two-time Grand Slam champion said. However, Scotsman Murray says the security of the players should be taken well care of as strange things including the Seles incident have happened before.

"But sometimes I do, when I am on my own, think, ‘Wow, there are so many people there, what if someone really doesn't like you?’

"It is possible. You obviously saw what happened with Monica Seles. It is very rare but these things are not impossible so it is important that security looks after the players," the reigning Olympic champion said.