Nadal Faults Umpire For Timely Time Violations

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 20th January 2014

Nadal Faults Umpire For Timely Time Violations

epaselect epa04032088 Rafael Nadal of Spain tosses a towel during his fourth round match against Kei Nishikori of Japan at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 20 January 2014 EPA/MADE NAGI |

Editors note: We agree with Rafa. And we think the lady in the chair should have never had that seat after the terrible call she made years ago in Serena’s match. She always chooses the wrong moment. How interesting ….

Eva Asderaki’s name is etched in tennis history as the umpire who had to weather the fiercest verbal onslaught ever known in a Grand Slam final when Serena Williams berated her decision-making at a crucial stage of the 2009 US Open. Rafael Nadal is too much of a gentleman to descend to such behavior but he too was less than pleased with the lady from Greece who handed him two time violations, the second at a critical moment in the third set.

In the end it did not really matter for Nadal, he still won through 7-6, 7-5, 7-6 against Kei Nishikori with each set taking more than hour. Partly this was down to the Japanese player’s repeated resistance in extended baseline rallies. However Nadal’s career long habit of taking longer than the allotted 25 seconds (20 in Grand Slams) between points was of course another reason.

Asderaki infuriated Nadal when she warned him for the second time at 4-4 deuce in the third set at the climax of a particularly athletic game with both players doing plenty of running. “The negative thing in my opinion is not the warning,” said the no.1 seed. “The negative thing is the moment; 4‑All, deuce. You can choose another moment to do it, not that one.”

Nadal could never be termed a argumentative individuals who constantly berates umpires. However he made his feelings very clear and continued to give Asderaki a series of glares that left nobody in any doubt of his anger.

He even gave Asderaki another minor lecture at the end of the match after sportingly shaking her by the hand. And he insisted afterwards there was good reason for his complaints. “Another thing is she didn’t advise me before the second warning that I was still going slow,” said the Majorcan.

“The normal thing is say, ‘Rafa, you are going too slow.’ So I try to go quicker, before the second warning. But she didn’t do it and she could have. The rule says you can do it.”

Nadal did well to control his temper but continued: “The word is not rules or not rules. The word is understand the game. That’s all.

“But is important to have people on the chair that really understand the game and people who manage this sport who understand the game.

“If you are playing with 40 degrees, you cannot expect to have 20 seconds recover, 25 seconds recover. If you are playing crazy rallies, you cannot have 25 seconds recover because then you will not have more rallies because the players cannot have it. So that goes against the fans, against the show.”

But Nadal ended with making a New Year resolution. “I going to try to go quicker for the future,” he vowed.

Topics: 10sballs.com, Australian Open, Eva Asderaki, Kei Nishikori, Rafael Nadal, Tennis, Tennis News