Iguana Invades Tennis Match at Miami Open

**kellyhound** · #1 ● 03-24-2017, 03:38 AM

A play at the Miami Open was temporarily stopped on Wednesday when a wild iguana invaded the tennis court.

Germany's Tommy Haas was playing Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic in their first round match when the reptile ran onto the scoreboard.

The umpire tried to reassure a concerned Vesely that the iguana posed no threat and was not 'a dangerous animal.'

“It's not a dangerous animal,” the umpire pleaded to which Vesley replied: “I cannot concentrate,”

While his opponent asked for the animal to be removed from the court, Haas took the opportunity to take a selfie.

Click image for larger version

Name: iguana-haas.jpg
Views: 184
Size: 217.7 KB
ID: 724662

The veteran later posted the image to his Instagram page with the caption: "Special selfie at the Miami Open, thanks for coming out to watch some Tennis."

The American crowd cheered as the 38-year-old tentatively posed for a picture with the scaly intruder.

Their cheers were replaced by screams and gasps however when an attempt to capture the reptile caused it to jump off the scoreboard and scurry across the court.

Officials eventually managed to throw a towel over the animal and carry it from the court, but not before it clambered up on the second scoreboard on the opposite baseline.

“Maybe the iguana got the note that this is most likely the last time I'm playing here, and he wanted to say 'Hi' and take a peek or something,” Haas joked.

"It was pretty cool. Of that size, I don't think I've ever experienced that. I don't know where he came from and why he wanted to come out on Court 1 and kind of say hello to everyone.”

Vesely eventually won the match when play resumed, beating Haas in three sets.