That was crazy, horrible stuff from Nalbandian.
WHAT HAPPENED?
The match was an even one. Nalbandian was 1 set up, but Cilic just managed to get an important break to lead 4-3 (and a break up) in the second set when the Argentine lost it. The crazy guy went at a sponsored wooden frame to kick it in full rage. Unfortunately behind that, there was an unlucky linesman whose leg was actually nailed by a broken piece. That is when the horror story began with the poor man starting to bleed heavily. Everybody was in disbelief of what happened: Nalbandian, the chair umpire, the crowd and… of course.. the wounded linesman (thanks God he was nothing serious).
Nalbandian was immediately disqualified. The court interview during the awkward ceremony was even more embarrassing when the Argentine first apologizes to then attack the government body of ATP (double fault for Nalbandian).
After the ceremony, Nalbandian issued a formal and more politically correct statement saying
“I am embarrassed and sorry for the kick that unintentionally hurt the linesman. I never intended to hit him. It was an unfortunate reaction; I wanted to vent after the loss of a point.”
“I had the opportunity to personally apologize to the linesman for this unfortunate event which I’m taking absolute (responsibility for). (I’d also like to) take this opportunity to apologize to the public and my fans and followers in Argentina and around the world for what I did.”
So what’s next? Nalbandian will lose all the points he would have gained from the tournament (150 for being a runner up) and that will cost him a lot since he will not be seeded in Wimbledon. On top of it he won’t receive the € 44,945 check due to the runner-up.
DO WE LIKE IT?
No, we don’t. We can understand the frustration of a tennis player, but you can’t do that. Tennis is having a golden age because the top players are setting a very good example with their gentleman behavior, something that is unfortunately not common in other sports (talking about soccer here…).
Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are super champions because of their incredible tennis and superb sportsmanship. It is wonderful to see Rafa hugging a tearful Federer after a tense Australian Open final, Roger putting a nice face after being badly upset by Tommy Haas at Halle or Nole smiling at Tipsarevic after losing an horrible match in Madrid.
This is what this sport should be and it is not nice that other players spoil this feast.
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