Last month’s Wimbledon final match between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic has been hailed as one of the greatest matches to ever happen in the tennis world. Any fan of tennis knows how competitive a final can be if it lasts for five sets. It happened in their Wimbledon match, recording what is now known as the longest final in Wimbledon history. More than a month since the final round, the match is still making the headlines but this time because of the umpire involved in the contest.
Chair umpire for the Djokovic-Federer gets the ax
Due to what has been interpreted as a deliberate breaking of rules, the chair umpire that officiated the final game between Federer and Djokovic has been fired from his job. The decision, which was taken by executives at the ATP level, was done to umpire Damian Steiner because he violated the tour’s policy on how to conduct media interviews.
According to ESPN, Steiner did several interviews even when he was not able to obtain authorization from the ATP first. The umpire is said to have violated a specific rule that bars tennis officials from talking about specific matches and incidents so that they will be able to maintain their impartial status. The said interviews were done in Steiner’s native country of Argentina.
Steiner’s contract with the ATP was terminated back on August the 15th. Before his suspension in early August, he served for 25 years as a tennis professional.
Will Djokovic-Federer become the main rivalry in the male singles now?
With the massive press that the Wimbledon finale got, Djokovic and Federer only further established their status as icons in the game. This also now begs the question whether the main tennis rivalry now will shift from Djokovic-Nadal to Djokovic to Federer.
Before the now-historic Wimbledon match, the two, along with Rafael Nadal, were considered as the Big Three. But it was Djokovic and Nadal who were always pitted against each other in the media. However, the aftermath of last month’s amazing game may mean that we may be seeing more of a focus on Djokovic and Federer now.
After all, it is Djokovic who has the best chance to defeat Federer’s record of having the most number of Grand Slam singles titles. The Croatian player is younger than Federer, which means he has ample time to catch up.
Federer at the U.S. Open and results in 2019
Ranked no.3, Roger has a 40-6 win-loss record in 2019. Federer is currently playing at the U.S. Open where he defeated Sumit Nagal 4-6 6-1 6-2 6-4.
The Swiss will take on Dzumhur in the 2nd round. The head to head is 2-0 for Federer.
The last time that they locked horns, Federer won 6-1 6-3 6-3 in the 1st round in Wimbledon in June 2015.
Roger won 102 titles in his career. 47 on hard courts, 11 on clay courts, 20 on Indoor hard courts, 5 on carpet courts and 19 on grass courts.(See the list of his titles)
Roger Federer |
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