Last night out in Flushing Meadows, the US Open witnessed an event in sports that is relatively unheard of: Following Rafael Nadal's four set win in Arthur Ashe Stadium, a male fan rushed the court and planted a kiss on the Spanish superstar. What's more than that—Nadal seemed to have no problem with it whatsoever. The video below shows the modern day Morganno rushing the court as soon as Rafa went shirts-off time immediately after his match concluded.
The man was promptly taken away by security and then arrested for interference with a sporting event. But when asked about it afterward, Nadal seemed to have no fear that he was inches away from becoming the next victim of a Monica Seles-like attack. Quite the contrary, Nadal said, “For me it wasn’t a problem. The guy was really nice. He was a great fan. He said, ‘I love you,’ and he kiss me.” Now those are the words of a man who is not afraid to go sleeveless wearing Capri pants during the biggest match of his career.
This marks the first year in the history of the Open that the quarterfinals have arrived without an American male still in the draw. The last time two men kissing became such a story in American sports was when retired NBA player John Amaechi came out of the closet. That announcement prompted basketball great Tim Hardaway to say, "You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known...I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States."
