An attack by Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo on a woman umpire was “unacceptable” and will result in a “significant sanction”, French Open organisers said on Saturday (AEST).
After he lost to French 17-year-old Moise Kouame in a fifth-set tiebreak on Friday, Vallejo told tennis website Clay that Brazilian umpire Ana Carvalho had not been strong enough in the face of fan support for the local player.
“This sort of match needs to be umpired by a man. It’s very difficult for a woman to do it,” the 22-year-old said.
“It has to be refereed by a man, because it’s a very demanding crowd and you need a lot of strength to go against the crowd.”
The French Tennis Federation said in a statement that they and the Roland Garros tournament organisers “have taken note of Adolfo Daniel Vallejo’s comments”.
“The competence of an umpire is not determined by their gender, but by their professionalism and ability to officiate at the highest level,” the statement continued.
“The outcome of a sporting event, whether positive or negative, can never justify or excuse such remarks.”
They said they “will impose a significant sanction… in the form of a fine.”
“The Roland Garros tournament strongly condemns all sexist remarks, regardless of who makes them, and offers its support to the match umpire and, more broadly, to all the tournament’s umpiring officials.”
Vallejo said Carvalho had allowed Kouame too much recovery time.
“I think he took up a lot of time on many occasions, lying on the floor or stalling,” said Vallejo.
“And it’s not normal for the crowd to be shouting for a full minute without any play. In a match where the physical aspect matters so much, if you give a player a lot of time, he’s obviously going to take advantage of it.”
Vallejo published a statement on his Instagram stories on Saturday morning where he made an apology.
“I want to clarify that my comments were not meant in the way they have been understood,” he posted.
“I have respect for the umpire and the job they do. After a 5hrs battle I was very heated and with a lot of emotions, I apologise.
“I also want to clarify that I didn’t blame the loss on her, she did a good job throughout the whole match.
I will learn and get better with this.
“I also have great respect for Roland Garros, the French Tennis Federation and everyone involved in tennis.”
Storm erupts over ball girl incident
Spain’s Rafael Jodar has denied suggestions he pushed a ball girl during his third round win over American Alex Michelsen.
Jodar’s epic five-set win has been soured by viral footage and suggestions he shoved a volunteer ball girl as he attempted to leave the court.
One broadcast camera showed Jodar threw an object towards his players box before he headed for the exit, where the young girl was also moving across.
However, the No. 27 seed says he did not touch the gall girl and said the camera footage is misleading.
The camera only captured a view from directly at Jodar’s back.
“I finished the set and she was walking backwards,” Jodar told reporters after the match.
“I was telling my dad to give me what he was going to give me after the toilet break. She was in the middle. I think she was trying to get out of the way.”
He said the young girl slipped on a tarpaulin at the back of the court. There have been calls for the tarpaulins to also be removed from the court with several players also losing their feet.
“She fell because there was a court cover behind her,” Jodar said, per tennismajors.com. “Obviously I appreciate all the work the ballkids do – I know it’s difficult in this heat. I could never push a ballkid.”
Asked whether he had made any contact at all with his hands: “I never touched her. I would never do that.”
The 19-year-old had to dig deep as the match ticked over the four hour mark before he eventually prevailed 7-6 (7/2), 6-7 (5/7), 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
He will now face fellow Spaniard and former World No. 10 Pablo Carreno Busta in the fourth round.
Djokovic and Demon knocked out, vent anger
The men’s singles draw was blown further wide open when Novak Djokovic and Alex de Minaur were knocked out.
De Minaur became the first player to lose a grand slam match after winning the opening set 6-0 in six years in a stunning mid-match capitulation in his 0-6 6-2 6-2 6-3 defeat against 20-year-old Jakub Mensik.
There was more history to come in Djokovic’s match as he coughed up a two-set-to-love lead for just the second time in his career – and first in 16 years.
Again it was a young star – Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca – who marked his arrival on the big stage with a 4-6 4-6 6-3 7-5 7-5 triumph.
There were also dramatic moments of tension in both matches.
The Australian was seen dropping his broken racket in a bin as Mensik – who two days ago dramatically collapsed in the heat in his match against Mariano Navone – dialled up the pressure.
It is the first time the Czech has beaten de Minaur in six meetings.
De Minaur said after the match he wants to quickly forget about the match.
