Rafael Nadal had to use all his experience as a statesman of the tour to calm a situation that was ready to explode as Canadian young gun Denis Shapovalov and chair umpire Carlos Bernardes got in a heated disagreement over the Spanish star’s pace of play at the end of the first set of their quarter-final.
Nadal closed out the first set 6-3 and Shapovalov was left peeved at the time the veteran Spaniard was taking in between points ahead of the second set.
Shapovalov approached umpire Bernardes prior to the first game of the set and urged him to call Nadal for a time violation.
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“Started the clock so long ago and he’s still not ready to play. You’ve gotta call him,” the Canadian told the Brazilian official.
Minutes later, after Shapovalov won his first service game of the second set, the Canadian gestured to the umpire with eight seconds left on Nadal’s shot clock, only this time Bernardes was not having any of it.
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Shapovalov: He’s not ready to play!
Bernardes: You’re not ready either.
Shapovalov: What do you mean I’m not ready to play?
Bernardes: Because you’re coming to talk to me.
Shapovalov: You guys are all corrupt…
Bernardes: You have eight seconds to play, what do you want? Why are you looking at me like you have to watch, you have the shot clock for this.
After the heated exchange with the chair umpire, Shapovalov and Nadal met at the net to discuss what was annoying the young Canadian so much.
“Rafa walked up with authority as if to say, ‘Now son, come here’ and put his hand out gently as to say, ‘We don’t have issues. You just get back there and play and we’ll get it all done’,” Todd Woodbridge said on commentary for Nine.
“It was like a senior defusing moment. A lot of other players would’ve gone a lot hotter a lot quicker than Rafa did.”
Shapovalov was criticised for his move by US tennis great Jim Courier, who said the 22-year-old was “out of order”.
“The shot clock was at seven and he had his hands up in the air like Nadal was doing something wrong,” he said on Nine’s coverage.
“Here we go, a conversation between the two players, we don’t see that too often do we?
“Shapovalov has no business putting his hands up in the air when there’s still time on the clock.
“If the clock’s zero, then he should say, ‘Bernardes, call it’. The frustration from the first set is bubbling over a little bit.”
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