Last night, after Rafael Nadal outlasted Gael Monfils in four sets, a crazy/drunk/stupid person ran out of the stands, gave Nadal a hug, and told him how much he loved him. Nadal, having just played tennis for a couple of hours and being inconveniently shirtless at the time (that guy, he’s always shirtless!), was too bewildered to do much more than hug the guy back. Nadal was downright cheery about it. “For me it wasn’t a problem. The guy was really nice,” Nadal said. “He was a great fan,” he said. “He said, ‘I love you,’ and he kiss me.”
These incidents are always funny until they’re not. A clearly addled Calvin Klein deciding he wants to talk to Latrell Sprewell in the middle of a Knicks game, right when Latrell is about to throw the ball inbounds, is hilarious. (Well, until Klein checks into rehab two weeks later, anyway.)
But then, of course, you have the stabbing of Monica Seles by a crazed Steffi Graf fan in 1993. The footage of it is still harrowing to watch.
Rafael Nadal Makes a New, Scary FriendAlready a subscriber? Log in or link your magazine subscription