‘We need Rufus!’ – Carlos Alcaraz vs Taylor Fritz Wimbledon semi-final interrupted

Andre Agassi called for Rufus to take action after a ‘bird on the net’ interrupted Carlos Alcaraz’s clash with Taylor Fritz at Wimbledon.

Play was briefly halted during the first game of the semi-final showdown on Centre Court when Fritz was about to serve with the score at 15-15.

Fritz saw the funny side with the American tennis star seen with a massive grin as the crowd laughed off the incident before the bird flew away.

Tennis legend Agassi was hoping to see Rufus, a hawk who has been responsible for keeping the courts pest-free for 17 years, deal with it.

‘There’s a bird on the net – and that’s the wrong place to be when Taylor’s about to serve!’ Andrew Castle said on commentary duties for the BBC.

Agassi then added: ‘Where’s Rufus? We need Rufus to come and take care of that thing!’

There has been talk of a ‘succession crisis’ over Wimbledon hawk Rufus – aged 17 – who has reportedly failed to breed.

Donna Davis, the hawk handler for Rufus, who has been patrolling the courts at Wimbledon since 2008, admits an attempt was made to breed him with another bird named Pamela, but it was ‘not love at first sight’.

Speaking to the BBC, Davis said: ‘It was in lockdown that we thought let’s see if Rufus will breed with Pamela, they didn’t hit it off. We decided to try and get a different suitor for him.’

Quizzed if another potential mate had been identified, Davis added: ‘I haven’t looked, but if there are any females that are not his bloodline then yeah we could try, couldn’t we?’

Rufus, raised by Avian Environmental Consultants, first appeared at Wimbledon when he was only 16 weeks old.

American Harris hawks usually live for 25-35 years and Davis has previously said Rufus will keep working ‘as long as he’s in good health’.