A streaker1 in Wimbledon Centre Court

Squirrels, pigeons and mice -- Wimbledon's Centre Court has attracted a menagerie of animals over the years who brought many a tense match to a halt with their unwelcome intrusions.

Nowadays, though, it is streakers who are the bigger menace, prompting the tournament authorities last year to contemplate² putting up a fence between spectators and players.

The problem of animal intruders came to a head in 1999 when German players Boris Becker and Nicolas Kiefer were twice dive-bombed from the grandstand roof by pigeons.

So the All England Club gratefully accepted the services of a full-time³ falconer to patrol the courts with a swooping⁴ bird of prey⁵, named Finnegan, acting⁶ as a highly effective deterrent⁷.

Wimbledon librarian Alan Little, who boasts an encyclopaedic knowledge of tournament history, has compiled for his annual Wimbledon compendium⁸ a history of the most intriguing⁹ Centre Court invasions.

Back in 1949, the Centre Court ball boys had to chase a squirrel off the hallowed turf while the players sat down to await the all-clear.

Pam Shriver once had to contend with a swarm¹⁰ of bees. One stung her opponent, Kathy Rinaldi, on the arm and Shriver gallantly¹¹ went over to remove the sting.

John McEnroe and Stefan Edberg had their razor-sharp concentration disturbed in the 1989 semi-final by two sparrows swooping in low.

But the humans win the top prizes for the most eccentric interruptions.

In the 1957 gentleman's final, a Mrs. Helen Jarvis invaded the court, shouting and waving a banner calling for a new world banking¹² system.

A female streaker first took to the court in the 1996 men's final.

Last year, Maria Sharapova was startled by a streaker who leapt on to Centre Court during her quarter-final against Elena Dementieva.

She averted¹³ her gaze as he cart-wheeled naked in front of her before being bundled off court by security guards who wrapped him in a red blanket.

"I didn't want to look at all the details," Sharapova said.

But when told that some women spectators had been impressed by his physique, she replied: "Maybe next time I'll take a look."