Stefanos Tsitsipas was furious with the chair umpire during his match at the ShanghaI Masters.
The Greek player took on Daniil Medvedev with a spot in the quarter-finals up for grabs and it was a contest that did not go down without any controversy.
The 26-year-old had been looking solid in Shanghai after picking up wins against Kei Nishikori and Alexandre Müller.
But Tsitsipas’ campaign came to an end at the hands of the 2021 US Open winner but he was left quite unhappy with chair umpire Fergus Murphy.
What did Stefanos Tsitsipas say to the chair umpire at the Shanghai Masters?
The controversy began when Stefanos Tsitsipas wanted to call for the supervisor with the score at 2-2 in the second set. This is because the umpire gave Tsitsipas a time violation during a game in which he had his serve broken.
“Why are you doing this to me man? I’m the best about this on tour, the most consistent player about this on tour,” to which umpire Murphy replied: “The clock starts automatically, just listen. It might help if you listen. The clock starts automatically. I have no control over that.”
Tsitsipas added: “Why are you guys against me so much? The last few months have been terrible. I don’t understand what’s gotten into you.” The umpire then said: “That’s not a correct statement. I’m not against you or anybody.”
Tsitsipas claimed: “I haven’t seen any of my opponents get a time violation besides myself,” before the umpire hit back: “Well maybe if you watch more matches. We give lots of time violations.”
Tsitsipas then responded: “Are you sure? There are some out there who are much worse than me, before the official said: “I’m sure they get time violations.
“The best thing to do is talk about this match. On that serve you were too slow. You need to watch the clock. You have to keep watching the clock and keep up.”
What else did Stefanos Tsitsipas say to the chair umpire at the Shanghai Masters?
The argument later continued as Tsitsipas went back to the umpire and said: “My issue is the double fault you just took away from me. That’s the issue. Have you never played tennis in your life?,” to which the official said: “I have.”
An infuriated Tsitsipas added: “You have no clue about tennis it seems like,” to which the umpire said: “I’m not as good as you are, but I’ve played.”
Tsitsipas’ response was brutal, saying: “Definitely you have no cardio. You probably serve and volley all the time. Tennis is a physical sport. We need time over there. Show some compassion. We aren’t throwing darts out here.”
Normal service soon resumed and it was Medvedev that emerged victorious 7-6(3), 6-3 win to set up a quarter-final showing with World number one Jannik Sinner.
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