WATCH: Rafael Nadal threatened to walk out of the match after heated argument with chair umpire
Rafael Nadal was clearly frustrated with the chair umpire during the 2010 Nitto ATP Finals.
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Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal has played tennis with the highest level of sportsmanship over the course of his career. It is very rare for the Spaniard to lose his cool, and have arguments with the chair umpire or his opponents. In fact, Rafael Nadal has never smashed his racquet on court, which shows the incredible composure he possesses.
However, no man is ever perfect. Rafael Nadal did lose his cool during the 2010 Nitto ATP Finals, where he had a heated argument with the chair umpire. A mistake from the chair umpire Carlos Bernardes triggered the Spaniard which forced him to take the matter to the tournament supervisor.
Rafael Nadal was serving for the first set, with the score reading as 6-5 (15-15). A backhand from Tomas Berdych was not called out by the chair umpire, even though it seemed to have just landed outside the baseline. Rafael Nadal continued the rally, and instantly raised his hands for a challenge.
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Rafael Nadal was furious with chair umpire’s error
Just as Rafael Nadal challenged the decision, the chair umpire called the ball outside, and awarded the point to the Spaniard. This meant that score now read 30-15, with Nadal just two points away from sealing a closely fought first set. However, Tomas Berdych decided to challenge the call, which showed that the ball had just kissed the line.
Carlos Bernardes decided to award the point to the Czech player, which angered Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard believed that he was well-positioned in the rally, and there was no sense in awarding the point to his opponent. However, the Brazilian umpire remained adamant on his decision, which forced Nadal to involve the tournament supervisor.
Rafael Nadal won the match comfortably in the end, claiming a straight sets victory. After the match, he stated that the it was a complete error from the umpire’s perspective, which could proven to be costly. “There is no argument. I am right, but it’s (a) mistake for him. The important thing, I was playing really well before that point. This point doesn’t change a lot. Finally, I was lucky. I won that game,” said Nadal.
Tomas Berdych did not have nice words to say about his opponent either, and blamed the umpire for his failure to keep things under control. “I mean, it’s not the mistake of Rafa. It’s the mistake of the referee. He just needs to show him that it’s not like he can do whatever he wants on the court,” he said.
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