Stefanos Tsitsipas refuses to play as umpire accused of ‘being against’ him in ugly row | Tennis | Sport
Stefanos Tsitsipas sat down in protest and refused to continue his match at the Shanghai Masters after accusing the umpire of being “against him”.
The world No. 12 wasn’t happy when he received a loss of first serve for a time violation after running down the clock while facing Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round.
After Medvedev broke him, Tsitsipas stormed to his bench while his opponent waited to serve and didn’t resume the match until his demands to see the supervisor were met.
After losing a close first set, Tsitsipas broke to lead in the second set. But he found himself in trouble while serving at 1-2 as he ran down the shot clock and lost his first serve. The 26-year-old stormed to the chair to confront umpire Fergus Murphy.
“I’m being so reasonable. Why are you doing this to me man? I’m the best about this on tour, I’m the most consistent player on tour,” he said. The umpire tried to remind him that the shot clock now started automatically, something players are informed about at the start of every match.
Murphy replied: “Stef just listen. It might help if you listen. The clock starts automatically so you really have to watch the clock. I have no control over that.” But Tsitsipas carried on, accusing the officials of being unfair.
He continued: “Why are you guys against me so much? The last few months have been terrible. I don’t understand what’s got into you.”
Murphy wasn’t having it as he told Tsitsipas: “That’s not a correct statement. I’m not against you, I’m not against anybody.” The world No. 12 claimed other players who were “worse” avoided time violations but the umpire disagreed.
“Well maybe if you watch more matches,” Murphy said. “I’m sure they get time violations. The best thing to do is talk about this match. On that serve you were too slow. You need to watch the clock. You need to keep watching the clock and keep up.”
Tsitsipas eventually went back to the baseline to continue playing and was ultimately broken. As Medvedev waited to serve at 2-2, the 26-year-old marched to his bench and sat down, refusing to resume the match until he could speak to the supervisor about his time violation but the umpire explained that he needed a concrete reason.
Tsitsipas retorted: “I need to talk to them, we need to have a conversation about the time. My issue is the double fault you just took away from me. That’s the issue. Have you never played tennis in your life?” When Murphy admitted he did play, though not to the same level, Tsitsipas went on a rant.
“You have no clue about tennis it seems like,” he continued. “Definitely you have no cardio. You probably serve and volley all the time. Anyways, tennis is a physical sport. We need some time over there. You have to show some compassion because you aren’t showing any compassion. It’s a physical sport. We’re not throwing darts out here.”
The chair official reminded Tsitsipas that he was in charge of time violations and urged the Greek star to play as Medvedev continued to wait at the baseline. Murphy eventually told the world No. 12 that he could see the supervisor at the next changeover.
Tsitsipas replied: “If it’s going to be unfair, I need the supervisor, I need to to clarify the time violation you just gave me. Can I talk to him? You seem like you have no idea what you’re doing so I need to talk to him.
“If you’re going to gift a game like this to my opponent, I need the supervisor. If you’re going to gift a serve to my opponent.” Murphy refuted his accusations, explaining he was simply following the rules.
As Medvedev continued to wait, Tsitsipas didn’t budge. “Days ago I was about to serve in my first-round match and my opponent took a medical time out right when I was about to serve. I did not complain. So now I want to call the supervisor,” he said, clarifying why he wouldn’t wait for the changeover.
There were boos from the crowd as Tsitsipas was informed that he needed to play because it wasn’t a changeover. But the supervisor eventually gave in and came out, and Tsitsipas had his speech prepared.
“Let’s discuss, let’s talk. Well, your guy here decided to give me a time violation for something completely unreasonable after having to play so many rallies. He probably never felt how it is being out here in 40 degrees playing tennis,” the 11-time title winner ranted.
“And he decided to give me a time violation before a big point. Which has happened with one of your Spanish guys previously in Cincinnati. Also another I don’t know, random guy that you decided to put on the chair out there. How can he do that? How can he do that at such a crucial moment?”
The supervisor replied: “Since Roland Garros you know that we’ve had a change in the procedures and the clock starts automatically.”
But Tsitsipas still thought it was unfair. “Can you answer that for me? How come other players on the tour that are 10 times worse than me are not getting a time violation?” he asked.
The supervisor encouraged him to continue the chat while walking back to the baseline because he was delaying the match. “Continue conversation what? He stole a point away from me, how is that fair?” Tsitsipas added, though he gave in and started walking back onto the court.
Tsitsipas only won one more game as Medvedev came through 7-6(3) 6-3. The world No. 12 shook hands with Murphy after the match but, as he left the court, turned and gave the umpire some parting words.
