New York crowd riots as ball boy FINALLY catches mysterious virus that interrupted US Open quarterfinal play
- A US Open quarterfinal was stopped by a mysterious beetle flying over the court
- A ball boy rushed over to catch the insect and eventually got his hands on it.
- The crowd went wild as the ball boy ran away triumphantly with a big grin
Proving that not all heroes wear capes, a ball boy refused to give up the hunt for a mysterious virus that disrupted play at the US Open on Tuesday night.
Local favourites Frances Tiafoe and Grigor Dimitrov were in the closing stages of the second set of their quarterfinal when the former pointed out that a small creature was flying across the court.
Without hesitation, a ball boy stepped forward and began chasing the insect – which may have been a moth – but it proved very difficult to catch.
His relentless pursuit brought laughter to the New York crowd, while another ball boy came forward and tried to help, but it looked as if their efforts were in vain.
However, the original ball boy remained true to his task and finally got his hands on the insect before raising his arms triumphantly and accepting the applause of the fans in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
A ball boy desperately tried to catch a mysterious virus that brought play to a halt at the US Open
Another ball boy came over to help him, but the insect was very difficult to catch
The original ball boy was eventually infected by the virus and ran away triumphantly with his arm raised
The New York audience saw the funny side of the humorous incident
The ball boy accepted the applause of the crowd and beamed from ear to ear
When the camera then panned to the ball boy, you could see that he was beaming from ear to ear.
It was not the first time that play at this year’s tournament was interrupted under bizarre circumstances.
On Monday, play was briefly halted on all courts due to a fire alarm in the Hawkeye system.
On this occasion, there wasn’t much that could be done until the alarm stopped, but this time the ball boy ensured there was minimal disruption by getting his hands on the bug in less than 30 seconds.
Frances Tiafoe (pictured) won the quarterfinals, making it the first time the USA has had a male player in the final of the US Open since 2006.
Tiafoe secured his place in the semifinals after Dimitrov was forced to retire due to injury in the fourth set, when the American was leading 2-1.
His win means the United States will have a homegrown player in the men’s final for the first time since 2006, as Tiafoe will now face fellow countryman Taylor Fritz in the semifinals following his quarterfinal victory over Alexander Zverev.
