“Rules aren’t the same for everybody” – Fans question inconsistency citing Novak Djokovic’s infamous default as Alex Michelsen gets away despite hitting a spectator at Winston-Salem Open
Tennis fans were not happy as Alex Michelsen was allowed to compete despite hitting a fan during his match at the Winston-Salem Open.
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Alex Michelsen gets away despite hitting a fan while Novak Djokovic was defaulted for hitting a line judge (Images via NBC Sports/US Open/X)
Amid the controversy surrounding Jannik Sinner‘s doping scandal and accusations of differential treatment, the ATP umpires have now come under fire for inconsistency in decision-making after Alex Michelsen was allowed to play despite hitting a fan. During his match against Lorenzo Sonego at the Winston-Salem Open on Saturday, Michelsen hit the ball in anger, which hit a spectator.
Michelsen feared a default as happened to Novak Djokovic at the 2020 US Open after the Serbian hit a line judge by mistake. With the same chair umpire, Aurelie Tourte officiating the match, a default looked on the cards.
However, much to everyone’s surprise, the chair umpire, after consulting with the fan, asked Michelsen to continue playing. The American, meanwhile, put his hands up and apologized to the fan and continued. But this inconsistency in decision-making was instantly flagged by the fans on social media.
An X user highlighted the difference in the verdict for almost a similar offense. They further demanded that Michelsen should have been defaulted the same way Djokovic was asked to discontinue in 2020.
Fans call out ATP umpires for inconsistency in decision-making
With the video of the Alex Michelsen incident going viral on social media and the decision from the chair umpire to allow him to continue being pointed out, tennis fans called out the ATP umpires for the inconsistency in decision-making. Most of them could not understand why Michelsen was allowed to continue.
Check out the reaction of fans on the Alex Michelsen case.
Novak Djokovic was defaulted for violating Article III: Player On-Site Offenses, Section N of the Official Grand Slam Rule Book, which deals with “ball abuse.”
Players shall not violently, dangerously or with anger hit, kick or throw a tennis ball within the precincts of the tournament site except in the reasonable pursuit of a point during a match (including warm-up). … For the purposes of this Rule, abuse of balls is defined as intentionally hitting a ball out of the enclosure of the court, hitting a ball dangerously or recklessly within the court, or hitting a ball with negligent disregard of the consequences."The rulebook on default says.
Interestingly, Michelsen also hit the ball in anger. However, the American was lucky to survive a default. The fan stating they were fine also saved Michelsen from being sent out. However, while the American was not defaulted, he lost the match in straight sets (6-0, 6-3).
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Ritesh Pathak
(2150 Articles Published)