There seems to be a trend of players clashing with umpires at the 2024 Shanghai Masters, with several incidents occurring. Most notably, Frances Tiafoe lashed out at an umpire after two time violations cost him his first serve, and Alexander Zverev also had a confrontation with an umpire during his match.
Now, Stefanos Tsitsipas has joined the list of players who have had run-ins with umpires. His situation was quite similar to Tiafoe’s, though his reaction was different.
During his match, Tsitsipas received two time violations from umpire Fergus Murphy, the second of which occurred in the second set when he was leading 2-1 and serving.
The penalty resulted in him losing the first serve and going down 15-30, ultimately losing both the game and the match, which Medvedev won in straight sets 7-6(3), 6-3.
Tsitsipas voiced his frustration with the umpire’s decision during the match, even asking for the supervisor to be called, which Murphy declined, stating it wasn’t necessary.
After the match, Tsitsipas reflected on the incident in an interview with Ziggo Sport, describing the umpire’s decision as “not very smart.” He believed he was playing well and felt the umpire unnecessarily inserted himself into the match by penalizing him with the time violation.
Tsitsipas mentioned that he was not the only one receiving time violations, referencing Tiafoe’s match as a similar example. He called on umpires to apply more common sense and compassion, especially in physically demanding matches.
The Greek star expressed that if his opponent had taken a few extra seconds, he would have understood. Tsitsipas’ frustrations echo those of Novak Djokovic, who also voiced concerns about the new rule.
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