Roger Federer was involved in a tetchy exchange with an umpire at the French Open but still rallied to get through to the third round by beating Martin Cilic. Elsewhere, Russia's Daniil Medvedev also advanced to the last 32.
The eldest man at the Roland Garros aged 39, Federer had cruised when claiming the first set but the Swiss legend then found himself embroiled in a stern exchange of views with official Emmanuel Joseph as well as Croatian rival Cilic.
The incident came in the second set when Cilic let Joseph know his unhappiness with how long Federer was taking to retrieve his towel point-after-point.
Roger Federer was FUMING after this time violation 😡
— StanSportAU (@StanSportAU) June 3, 2021
Every Match. Every Court. Ad-Free. Live and On Demand.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/77hRyrYMJl
Receiving a warning from the French official, the 20-time Grand Slam winner exploded while appearing unfamiliar with new rules that prohibit ball boys and girls from giving players their towels due to missing most of 2020 through a knee injury.
"I thought...," Joseph said in his mother tongue.
"..But you think wrong.. Like you thought wrong just before!" Federer interrupted.
"I listened when you were speaking to me, now listen to me when I’m speaking to you," he demanded.
Federer blows up!
— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) June 3, 2021
The Swiss superstar wasn't happy after being given a time violation - and went on to lose the second set!
Watch it live on @Channel9
Every Match. Every Court. Ad-Free. Live and On Demand on @StanSportAU#9WWOS #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/zSPxbOSX7v
"Am I playing too slow?" Federer was then heard asking Cilic.
"I'm going from one corner to the next, I'm not doing it on purpose."
After Federer said he was fully aware of the rules, Cilic replied: "You were not playing too slow but, on a few occasions, I was waiting for you...
"That's fine [getting your towel] but, I mean, you're playing like this all the time..."
Losing the second set after losing his head, Federer recovered well to rally to a 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 win over Cilic, and therefore notched back-to-back match triumphs for the first time since competing in last year’s Australian Open.
Fed the Fighter 👏
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 3, 2021
For a 16th time in Paris, @rogerfederer is safely through to the third round overcoming Cilic 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-2. #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/7F4cjVCsps
"I had very good moments, in the tie-break in particular, and I served really well to finish," remarked the 2009 champion afterwards.
"It shows me that I still have something in the tank, it's super important for confidence."
Looking comfortable on the red clay 👍
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) June 2, 2021
Daniil Medvedev gets past Tommy Paul in four sets. pic.twitter.com/Nez7Hm4eec
Elsewhere in Paris, Russian star Daniil Medvedev was impressive when putting away Tommy Paul, with the official French Open social media accounts remarking he looked "comfortable on the red clay" – a somewhat unlikely scenario given Medvedev's infamous struggles on the surface in years gone by.
Losing the first set, he came back to win 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 overall, and this was his second ever victory at Roland Garros to improve his record to 2-4 there.
➡️3rd pic.twitter.com/JOc7uqWTl2
— Daniil Medvedev (@DaniilMedwed) June 3, 2021
"I know I’m capable of doing big things," the 25-year-old and number two seed – who will face Reilly Opelka next – stressed.
0 Comments