The opening week of the French Open in tennis turned out to be rich not only in unexpected results, but also in controversial episodes.
Social media litigation and even court scuffles have been added to the traditional referee scandals and discussion of meteorological conditions.
From the very first days of the tournament, it became clear that this year the weather did not favor the participants of Roland Garros, due to the coronavirus pandemic carried over from late May to early October.
The temperature sometimes dropped to + 10 ° C, a strong wind blew and it rained.
This not only created discomfort for athletes who were at risk of catching a cold, but also influenced the quality of clay courts without a roof.
Tennis players now and then complained about the weather, admitting that because of it they could not demonstrate everything they were capable of.
And rising American tennis star Corey Gauff remembered the last time she faced such conditions six years ago.
“Then I played at small tournaments in Georgia, which took place in the winter.
We all wore long uniforms and used pocket heating pads, which we held in our hands between rallies.
The current situation reminded me of a time when we were younger, ”Gauff quotes The Washington Post.
The most controversial situation occurred during the first round match, in which Victoria Azarenka and Danka Kovinich met.
Despite the drizzling rain, the umpire did not stop the match and at some point the Belarusian refused to continue the game.
She subsequently explained that she was worried about her condition.
“Are you laughing?
Or don't you see what's going on here?
You don't play and you don't feel it.
I'm not complaining and I'm ready to play, but this is just ridiculous.
What's the point in sitting here like ducks?
It's eight degrees outside, and I live in Florida, ”Azarenka said to the judge.
The referee asked the tennis players not to leave the court, but they went into the room under the stands.
After 15 minutes, they returned and the meeting continued.
The mood of the players was spoiled not only by the weather, but also by the controversial refereeing.
Several mistakes at once made people start talking about the need to introduce the Hawk Eye system, which is still absent in the Parisian major.
So, the referee's oversight potentially cost Denis Shapovalov's victory in a meeting with Roberto Carballes Baena.
The Canadian served for the match in the fifth set and when the score was 30:15, the line referee did not notice an out of the Spaniard.
As a result, he made a break, and then brought the party to victory.
After its graduation, the Canadian drew attention to the episode, wondering when video replays would be introduced on Roland Garros.
When will we have Hawkeye on clay?
@ atptour @ rolandgarrospic.twitter.com / neTqwglkbD
- Denis Shapovalov (@denis_shapo) October 1, 2020
The colleague was supported by Austrian Dominik Tim.
He admitted that in his match the referees made mistakes in his favor.
“This is not the umpire's fault, because sometimes the ball mark cannot be seen.
It is too difficult, especially after the break between sets, when the court and lines are being cleaned, so the boundaries of the ball mark are almost impossible to see.
Therefore, I think it would be fair to everyone if the Hawk Eye were used on the ground, and we must achieve this, ”- Tim quotes Tennis.com.
Another controversial episode occurred in the match between Christina Mladenovic and Laura Siegemund.
The Frenchwoman served for the set in the first set, but in one of the rallies, the umpire on the tower did not notice a double rebound on the side of her opponent.
The German woman herself did not protest against this decision.
This moment unsettled the former 10th racket of the world so much that she lost several games on her serve in a row, and then lost in the second set.
After the meeting, Siegemund received a wave of criticism.
"It was terrible.
The judge, who usually works great, missed this point.
In the old days we would have admitted everything ourselves, but now everything is different.
Siegemund knew for sure that she did not have time after the first rebound, and voila - it completely changed the course of the match, because Mladenovic knew it, ”wrote 18-time Grand Slam winner Martin Navratilova on Twitter.
Mladenovic herself lamented that tennis does not have a system like the football VAR.
On the eve of the French Open, it became known that the organizers had decided to change the ball supplier.
Many players noted that the new balls are much heavier and fly slower.
If the leaders of the world ranking, such as Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, did not see this as a big problem, then there were those who were extremely unhappy with the update.
For example, Georgian Sofia Shapatova admitted that she received a shoulder injury, and Briton Daniel Evans complained about an unsuccessful combination of cold weather and heavy balls.
“Some of the balls we play you wouldn't even give a dog a chance to chew.
It's hard.
Very cold.
The biggest problem I think is the balls.
Perhaps the organizers were a little mistaken with them.
They are difficult to direct.
Also, in September and October, the balls are always a little heavier, ”Tennis365 quotes Evans.
At the same time, the first racket of Great Britain was at the center of the scandal in the match of the first round of the doubles, in which he, together with Hubert Hurkach, opposed Matthew Middelcoop and Marcel Demoliner.
In the third set, the rivals first insisted that the ball hit Evans' hand, and then they even thought that he was lying, deliberately pointing to the wrong mark on the court.
The situation escalated with the score 5: 2 in favor of the Briton and the Pole.
Evans did not hold back a joyful cry, and Middelcoop accused him of provocation.
After a verbal skirmish, the tennis players almost got into a fight, and the umpire had to intervene in the situation.
Here's what happened between Dan Evans and Matwe Middelkoop.
pic.twitter.com/3ChaBYm6jZ
- Lee 🏳️🌈 (@yelnats_eel) September 30, 2020
In such difficult conditions, nerves do not stand up not only in men.
At the end of the second round match, in which Kiki Bertens and Sarah Errani met, both rivals experienced health problems.
The Italian woman had a pain in her arm, and the Dutch woman repeatedly called the doctor to examine her thigh.
This did not please the 2012 Roland Garros finalist, who decided that her opponent was playing to the public.
Errani still managed to snatch victory, but instead of rejoicing, she showed disrespect towards Bertens, refusing to thank her for the match and even insulting her in Italian.
At the same time, the Dutch woman showed with all her appearance how hard it was for her: she could not get up from the bench and even left the court in a wheelchair.
At the post-match press conference, the Italian explained her behavior.
In her opinion, Bertens feigned injury, and then freely moved around the stadium.
The Dutch woman reacted to this with humor.
“If I'm so good at pretending, as Errani says it is, then perhaps I need to think about a career as an actress?” - joked Bertens.
Despite the absence of Australian Nick Kiryos, the current Roland Garros has not been without a scandal with his participation.
This time the Russian Karen Khachanov came into conflict with him.
The reason for the disagreement was the words of the six-time Grand Slam winner Mats Wilander.
After the defeat of Andy Murray in the first round, he doubted that the Briton should have come to Paris, being not in the best shape and "take away the wild card from young tennis players."
Kiryos decided to stand up for his colleague, but he did it in his usual manner.
He invited the legendary Swede to shut up, as "no one is interested in his opinion."
Many felt that the tennis player had gone too far, but only Khachanov decided to express this openly.
He recalled that the Australian has repeatedly expressed himself in a similar vein, without going to court.
In response, he went personal.
“I would love to have an intellectual conversation with you, but I’m not sure it will go beyond how hard you can hit the ball.
I just ask people to be responsible, ”said Kiryos.
In response, the Russian advised his opponent to read more and not waste time on video games.
Later, he noted that he treats the Australian well and only wants him to respect those around him.
“I was brought up in such a way that everyone should be respected - both people from the past generation and those who are below you in the rating.
Of course, I would like all people to behave this way, but apparently everyone is different, ”the Russian explained.
In the meantime, the organizers of Roland Garros themselves may face litigation.
A few days before the start of the tournament, the Spaniard Fernando Verdasco passed a positive test for COVID-19, which he had had back in August.
Despite the fact that the next two analyzes showed a negative result, he was denied participation in the major.
The athlete was extremely annoyed by this decision and expressed his intention to achieve justice in court.
“Player rights don't mean anything.
You can imagine how angry I was.
It is unbelievable that they have shown great disrespect to a player who has played at Roland Garros for the past 16 years.
And the day after I was excluded from the grid, they changed the rules, and now you can do a second test.
This was the last straw, ”Reuters quoted Verdasco as saying.
Earlier, Petar Popovich, Damir Cumhur's coach, also announced his desire to file a lawsuit against the organizers in the event of a negative retest for COVID-19.
The specialist passed a positive test for coronavirus, because of which his ward was disqualified.