Giant Iguana Interrupts Miami Open Tennis Match, The Internet Goes Wild

New Delhi: A tennis match between German veteran Tommy Haas and Czech Jiri Vesely was rudely interrupted after a giant iguana ran onto the court. The score was tied 3-3 in the third set when the iguana climbed on top of a scoreboard - perhaps to take a closer look. Officials tried to shoo it away but the terrified lizard leapt onto the court instead and scurried across it. Miami Open fans watching were cheering all the way and flooded social media with pictures and videos of the hilarious incident.
 

when you REALLY want to find out what the score is of the Tommy Haas match pic.twitter.com/uVax0KsTrg

— Ricky Dimon (@Dimonator) March 22, 2017

Iguana comes up short in the Long Jump at the @MiamiOpen Track and Field Championships pic.twitter.com/evWoTU5tz0

— Ricky Dimon (@Dimonator) March 22, 2017

Officials first tried to shoo the iguana away with a towel but it refused to budge. When the chair umpire told the tennis players that they would resume play with the iguana sitting on the scoreboard, Vesely refused. "I can't concentrate," Vesely was caught on camera telling the umpire. He was supposed to return Haas' serve from the iguana's side of the court.
 

Iguana on court....he just wants a wildcard to Indian Wells next year, Tommy!! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/oeyGKNQlHO

— Tennis Inside Out (@TennisInsideOut) March 22, 2017

i cannot stop watching this iguana scamper across a tennis courthttps://t.co/pwt9krAajS pic.twitter.com/xVTbJrQLRn

— whitney (@its_whitney) March 22, 2017

Meanwhile Haas found the interruption to be hilarious and whipped out his mobile phone to take a quick selfie.
 

 

A post shared by tommy haas (@tommyhaasofficial) on Mar 22, 2017 at 3:53pm PDT

 

Haas gets a selfie with the Iguana this is insane ! pic.twitter.com/nJhjNTW6KU

— Joe C (@ProdigyRep) March 22, 2017

Talking to reporters later, Haas said "Maybe the iguana got the note that this is most likely the last time I'm playing here, and he wanted to say 'Hi'...It was nice for him to stop by. Good-looking iguana."
 

"It was nice for (Iggy) to stop by. Good looking iguana." -- @tommyhaas13 pic.twitter.com/ASynD4ZwoF

— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 22, 2017

Officials eventually carried the iguana away from the court, wrapped in a towel. It only took eight minutes.
 

Haas vs. Iguana pic.twitter.com/5GkD4MC05Z

— Ricky Dimon (@Dimonator) March 22, 2017

But not before he made plenty of fans

Best iguana I've ever seen in my life tbh. Very assertive, calm under pressure, good movement. Hope it comes back next yr #miamiopen #tennis

— Codrut (@CodrutBaciu) March 22, 2017

Watch some of the funniest moments of the iguana "invasion" here:



Iggy the iguana definitely got more than his 15 minutes of fame.