Daniil Medvedev avoids Wimbledon disqualification after ‘unsportsmanlike’ remark

CENTRE COURT — Daniil Medvedev took his tournament life in his hands against Carlos Alcaraz after a foul-mouthed outburst at the umpire during their Wimbledon semi-final.

Medvedev had been adjudged not to have returned an Alcaraz dropshot before it bounced twice – called “not up” by umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore – a decision that saw him lose serve and fail to serve out the opening set of the match.

But it could have been a whole lot worse for the Russian, who reacted to the call with an outburst that appeared to include several f-words, when the umpire called the supervisor and the tournament referee to the court.

After a long discussion that delayed the resumption of the match, Asderaki-Moore announced a warning for Medvedev for “unsportsmanlike conduct”.

“If you use a swear word you’re going to get a code violation and a warning and a fine, but if you verbally abuse the umpire, that’s when there’s a question mark. It could be a default,” former world No 4 Tim Henman told the BBC.

“Just from where we’re sitting to see the umpire get down off the umpire’s chair, to see the umpire and the supervisor to go on the court, that doesn’t happen unless something has gone on.”

According to the grand slam handbook, “players shall not at any time directly or indirectly verbally abuse any official” and violations are subject to fines and the point penalty schedule, the first stage of which is a sanction-free warning.

However, it also states that “the referee in consultation with the grand slam supervisor may declare a default for a single violation of this code”. The umpire does not need to consult anyone to give a warning in the point penalty schedule, and the presence of referee Denise Parnell and supervisor Wayne McKewen suggests Asderaki-Moore was considering a more serious punishment – but eventually decided a warning was enough.

‘Not up’

Medvedev’s outburst probably came from the frustration at having failed to serve out the set, but also from the call which both players appeared to think was wrong, even Alcaraz, who won the point, holding up a plaintiff arm.

Umpires call “not up” when the ball bounces a second time, but invariably it is a split-second decision that is not easy to call with the naked eye. Even players themselves sometimes claim not to be able to tell exactly when the ball was struck.

Tennis authorities have been trialling the use of video review to ensure the right decision is made, but not at Wimbledon and it is not yet standard to use it.

But it did become a de facto part of the tournament at the US Open two years ago, when Andy Murray was battling Francisco Cerundolo in New York. The umpire awarded Cerundolo a point after Murray was convinced the ball had bounced twice, but had no recourse to challenge. The big screen on the Louis Armstrong Stadium court showed the ball had in fact bounced twice, and out of good sportsmanship, Cerundolo told the umpire to give Murray the point.