Miami Open wildcard makes panicked swearing request of umpire: ‘I’m not used to this’ | Tennis | Sport
Eliot Spizzirri had a worrying realisation while making his Masters 1000 debut at the Miami Open. The American received a wildcard into the main draw, where he beat British qualifier Billy Harris in straight sets.
But the world No. 134 had a moment of panic in the match, asking the umpire whether he could swear on the court. A former college tennis player, Spizzirri has barely played on the main tour and admitted he wasn’t “used to this”.
Spizzirri enjoyed a dream debut at the Miami Open on Wednesday, beating Harris 7-6(2) 3-6 6-2 to record just his second match win in an ATP main draw.
However, the 23-year-old’s lack of experience showed when he approached chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani with an unusual query while trailing 2-5 in the second set.
Spizzirri was playing on Grandstand, the second-biggest show court at the Miami Open, and wasn’t familiar with the set-up on such a big stage.
“Sir, I got a question,” Spizzirri started. “If I curse at the net – I can’t curse? Is there microphones at the front?”
Lahyani confirmed that nearby microphones could pick up his bad language and Spizzirri replied: “I’ve got to chill out. I just did it and I was like, ‘oh my god’. I’m not used to this!”
The umpire was in good spirits, telling the world No. 134 not to worry. “Maybe it doesn’t pick it up. Sometimes it’s very sensitive, no worries,” Lahyani said.
Spizzirri will have to get used to playing on the sport’s biggest stages as he faces 24th seed Sebastian Korda in an all-American second-round clash and the match will likely be given prime billing on one of the larger courts.
The 23-year-old has come a long way from his college tennis days. It’s been less than a year since Spizzirri and his University of Texas teammates narrowly lost the national championship to TCU in May.
The world No. 134 was heartbroken after the defeat, but the loss taught him to put things into perspective. Spizzirri recently told the ATP that a golf day with his friends made him realise there was more to life than tennis.
“It was like, ‘Wow, I’m still a happy guy. Yeah, I lost a national championship and that’s what I wanted so bad… My results in tennis, of course I care about them and they’re important, but at the same time, it’s not everything’,” Spizzirri said.
“I think maybe before having such a crushing moment or maybe even a defining moment, I was sort of too intense or taking things too seriously and now I just try to enjoy it and make sure that I don’t judge myself based on my tennis results. I feel like I’m more than someone that just plays tennis and can have a bigger impact down the road.”
Spizzirri will be hoping to take that outlook into his tough contest with Korda. Win or lose, the 23-year-old has already achieved something huge this week in Miami – winning his first Masters 1000 match.
