Shapovalov's counter-attack in the Australian Open quarter-finals, despite losing the first two sets, was unable to toppl No. 6 seed Nadal and missed the semi-finals. He claimed Nadal had received preferential treatment from the referee and Nadal fought back.
Nadal admitted to spending some extra time at the end of the first set as having to change full-body clothes in a chair, in which case the referee would usually give the player an extra 30 seconds, which Nadal thought was fair. At the beginning of the second set, when Shapovalov was already waiting for the serve, Nadal slowly stepped on the court, and the Canadian player who thought Nadal was delaying time immediately made representations to referee Carlos Bernards.
After being denied a verdict that the 20-time Grand Slam winner had violated timing rules, the 22-year-old Canadian rising star angrily exclaimed: "You guys are corrupt. ”
When it was Nadal's turn to serve, Shapovalov once again felt that Nadal's preparations for the change of sides were too long, so he and Bernards had another argument. He thinks the referee should look at Nadal on the side of the serve, not at himself. Finally Shapovalov walked up to the confused Nadal and said a few words, and the unpleasant vignette stopped. But at the end of the fourth set, Nadal went to the bathroom to change his jersey, and Shabo debated with the referee before Nadal had used the bathroom timeout during the medical suspension, and even the commentator said that this time the suspension took a long time.
At the press conference, he admitted that he had misused the words, but he still insisted on his opinion.
"I think I was really excited when I said he was corrupt, but I was on my side. I think it's unfair for Rafa to get away with it. ”
"I'm totally ready to play, the time is ticking down to 3, 2, 1 is almost 0, I look at the referee and it's clear I'm going to say something out loud. I was ready to play for a minute and a half, but he told me he wasn't going to foul him because I wasn't ready to play. For me, it's a big joke. ”
"The same thing was going on at the Australian Open last year, I wasn't allowed to go to the bathroom because I had called a medical suspension. He has called for two medical suspensions and he is undergoing a medical evaluation, which was said by the referee in the fourth set. And after the assessment, he went to the bathroom, and I'm not arguing that he had a medical suspension or something, you know, but how can you go to the bathroom while taking a medical evaluation and cause a delay in the game? I mean, it's not fair. ”
Asked if Nadal had been given preferential treatment, Shapovalov replied frankly: "100 percent."
"I respect everything Rafa has done, I think he's an incredible player but there have to be some boundaries, set some rules, as a player it's so frustrating. You feel like you're not just playing against the players, you're playing against the referee, you're playing against more people. It's hard, I mean, after a long break in the fourth set, the momentum is gone and I know it's harder to play. ”
Shapovalov won the third and fourth sets, but was broken in his first serve in the decider and lost the game. Canadians believe it has something to do with this prolonged moratorium.
Nadal denied that he had been given preferential treatment and believed Shapovalov would learn from it.
"I really believe that people always think that the top players will get a bigger advantage, but to be honest, that's not the case on the pitch. You shouldn't get preferential treatment on the pitch and I really don't want it, and I don't feel like I have that treatment, there's no doubt that even though everyone knows, I have a lot of respect for Carlos, I think he's a great referee, but he's always tough on me on the pitch, isn't he? ”
"That's how I feel. I never felt like I was treated favorably on the pitch and I really believe he was wrong on this issue. Over the past few years, we've had a clock and we've added measures to make things fairer to everyone. ”
"I really feel sorry for him. I think he's played well for a long time. Of course, losing such a game is hard to accept, especially after I felt like I was crushed, maybe he felt that way too, and then I managed to win the game. ”
"I wish him all the best. He's still young and I think we're all going to make mistakes in our careers. I also made a lot of mistakes when I was younger, and maybe he will understand later that after thinking the right way, he may not be right today. ”
Becker said on Eurosport's programme: "Shapovalov is right if referees strictly follow the rules. Serves determine the speed of your game, and Nadal isn't ready to serve in 45 seconds. ”
Wieland said: "Shapovalov is obviously very emotional, probably too emotional in my dictionary. I don't mind if it's the right thing to do. I think you have to understand it from the lines, it's just 'this guy is taking too long – I don't care who he is, you have to follow the rules'. ”
When it comes to preferential treatment, Medvedev has something to say. As the highest-ranked second seed on the draw, he has not been placed in the Center Court Rod Laver in the past two rounds.
World number two questioned this: "I don't really know what I have to do to play the center of the Grand Slam because I won the last Grand Slam title, I mean, I'm the tallest seed here and it will be easier to play against Maxim at Rod Laver stadium and there will be more space on the pitch. When you play on a smaller court, it's harder to play against someone who serves and then immediately goes online than on a larger court. ”
Nadal has played all five games at rod laver stadium, where Tsitsipas has played three times.
In the fourth round, Medvedev believed the referee had given Cressy too much time before the start of the serve and did not give a time violation timeout warning when the timer went to zero.
After winning the first set, he wanted to go to the bathroom for a 90-second innings break between sets, rather than a fully designated washroom pause, hoping to leave it for him to change his gear after the second set.
Both the referee and the tournament superintendent rejected the U.S. Open title's request because they explained he could only use his restroom to pause.
Annoyed, Mei always questioned the referee: "What is this rule?" I can't get on the trumpet, but Cressy can wait 7 seconds and you didn't say anything, who are these rules for?"
So what do you think?
(Source: Tennis House Author: tennishead.net Compiler: Linghe Xianying)