Roger Federer stopped from entering Australian Open locker room because he forgot his pass

Roger Federer might be at the top of the tennis world, but even that isn't enough for him to stroll around the grounds of the Australian Open without a pass. With over a hundred wins to his title, the Swiss ace is easily one of the greatest tennis players in the history of the sport. But having amassed 20 solid Grand Slam titles didn't help him get past the security guard when he tried venturing into the players' area at Melbourne Park without a pass to show. 

Federer is currently on form as he attempts to defend the Australian Open title he won 12 months ago.

Though he didn't have a match on Saturday, he came to the stadium for practice session, when he was stopped by a security guard. A recently released video shows the official indicating to the Swiss ace that he was missing his Australian Open accreditation pass and as a result, would have to wait outside.

True, the security guard was just doing his job, but the audacious nature of his interaction with Federer has managed to cause quite the stir on social media. 

As per protocol, players, coaches, members of the media and even tennis officials have to carry lanyards for entry, and along with that, show a name, an organization, a photo, tournament role and a bar code that are to be scanned at security checkpoints. While many might think that Federer, the six-time Australian Open winner, would be exempted from the strict rules of the tournament, the guardwentbythe book.

Federer, however, accepted the protocol and did not argue with the guard any further. He waited outside until coach Ivan Ljubicic arrived at the scene before he was allowed entry to continue with his afternoon, and presumably prepare for his last-16 match against Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Federer isn't the only tennis player to have run across conscientious security staff in recent times. Not so long ago, women's tennis pro-Maria Sharapova was also seen walking nonchalantly across a security cordon, as an officer - unnoticed by the ace - asked her for ID proof.