David Nalbandian: The Controversial Hero – Tennis Special
World number 39, David Nalbandian, was disqualified from the final of the AEGON Championship, contested in the Queen’s Club London. He was up against the likes of the Croatian superstar, Marin Cilic, and winning the match 7-6(3),
3-4 when he kicked the advertisement hoardings that surrounded the seat of the linesman. Unfortunately, the impact of the Argentine’s kick was so great that the advertisement hoarding hit the linesman and injured him badly; forced the official to limp out
of the arena.
The sixth seed Croatian, Cilic, had just won a break in the match that inched him a step ahead of the 30-year-old Argentine. Nalbandian got frustrated and intentionally hit the boarding to release some anger but that unintentionally
hurt the linesman. The tenth seed Argentine was ruled out of the contest; disqualified for breaking the code of conduct and not showing a healthy sportsman like behaviour.
However, the scenario just didn’t end there. He now receives a potential ban of eight weeks, having already served a ban earlier for throwing the water at the officials of the Australian Open for making a wrong call at the most
critical stage of the match that proved to be the turning point for the American number one, John Isner. So, this year has been very frustrating for the Argentine who has not received any assistance from the umpires at all instead seen some unwanted moments.
The Argentine superstar is also stripped of the runners-up cheque worth 44,945 Euros (Dh209, 800). That was just not the end of the misery; he is not going to earn 150 ATP points that he would have if Cilic had won the match in
normal fashion. He apologized to the official at the court and conducted a press conference for a special apology stating, "I never intended to hit him (the line judge). It was an unfortunate reaction in which I wanted to let off steam after losing a point.
I had the opportunity to personally apologise to the line umpire for this regrettable act that I am fully responsible for."
However, he was not cool with the decisions of the Association of Tennis Professional that were showered against his unintentional abuse to the official. He sunk into more trouble saying, “In the beginning of the year you have
to sign that you agree with everything that the ATP says. And sometimes you don't. And if you don't want to sign, you cannot play ATP tournaments. Sometimes the ATP put a lot of pressure on the players, and sometimes you get injured because you play on dangerous
surface and nothing happens."
Sometimes I believe that players should be given some relaxations in the rules. What if Nalbandian hit the hoardings and that indirectly injured the linesman. He was just not in normal frame of mind having lost a crucial mind.
It happens, frustration can creep in. World number one, Novak Djokovic, smashes his head three times with a racquet and there is no violation. What is the Serb showing the upcoming stars? Is that what everyone wants to see in the future? Why he is not banned
and fined for such lethal acts? It’s a shameful day in the history of tennis!
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial
policy.
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