Police are currently investigating David Nalbandian’s actions when he was disqualified from the Aegon Championships final after a line judge was injured.
He was leading Marin Cilic 7-6, 3-4 when he kicked a panel in front of Andrew McDougall’s seat, drawing blood from his knee. Umpire Fergus Murphy awarded the match to Cilic drowned in boos from the upset crowd. Nalbandian apologised at the time and has since been fined the maximum penalty of £6,400 by the ATP.
A spokesman for Scotland Yard said: “A complaint has been made and the Metropolitan Police Service is now investigating. The allegation is of assault.” Nalbandian himself told the 6,000 spectators: “I am very sorry, sometimes you get frustrated on court.” He was deemed guilty of unsportsmanlike conduct and his £36,500 prize money was also withdrawn.
Lost amongst all the disbelief and confusion was the actual champion. Marin Cilic certainly didn’t deserve to be booed for the title as the Croat played some excellent tennis, recovering well after Nalbandian’s assured start, and he even looked to be on course for a comeback when the match was stopped.
The sixth seed was in good spirits – after all, remaining professional was key – but it was a real shame that he didn’t get a match-point moment, and of course his victory ceremony was ruined by the crowd’s over-reaction.
As Jonathan Overend so rightly outlines: “Sadly, as night fell, the talk of the Queen’s terrace was not of a worthy champion, but of the rebel runner-up and the dramatic drawing of blood on the lawns.”
“It was very bitter,” said Cilic. “It’s definitely not the way I wanted to win. To end like this is not easy. The match was getting hot and it’s tough to see the final finish like this. I can’t change it, but I’m really sorry for the fans that it finished like this.”
In terms of the tennis itself; after edging the first set on a tie-break, Nalbandian’s serve was broken in the second set’s opening game. He did well to level at 3-3 but immediately was pegged back again when he forced a forehand wide. The world number 39 then angrily booted the board, which broke apart and badly gashed McDougall’s left leg. He received immediate treatment from St John’s Ambulance and saw the tournament medical team.
The incident brings back memories of Tim Henman and Jeremy Bates, who became the first players to be disqualified from a tournament in the Open era when the former British number one accidentally hit a ball girl on the ear at Wimbledon in 1995. Henman reacted to netting a volley by belting the ball in anger, and the umpire decided to end the game with their opponents Henrik Holm and Jeff Tarango progressing through to the second round.
But surely, the victors in both of these incidents would rather have triumphed ‘fairly’; beating their opponents on the result, not by default. Situations like these must really put a damper on the not-so-sweet taste of victory, and in the end nobody goes home entirely satisfied. The umpire, too, must dislike ending a contest in this manner; chair umpire Fergus Murphy awarded Cilic the match, while ATP supervisor Tom Barnes confirmed the decision.”It is unsportsmanlike conduct, and the supervisor has the authority to declare an immediate default,” said Barnes. “Once I saw that the line judge was injured, I didn’t have any other option.” Tournament official Chris Kermode later added: “It is obviously not the way that we wanted to finish the final and I can understand the crowd’s frustration. “But the tournament is governed by ATP rules and this was a clear-cut case.”
Andrew Castle, a BBC commentator remarked it was a “rotten way for the tournament to end.” So who should we blame? The ATP? The player in question? Quite frankly, I was rather entertained by the whole scenario and certainly won’t be lodging any complaints myself. If players choose to compete in certain competitions, then it goes without saying that they accept the rules under which they play. And to break those rules – even by accident – well, that should bring serious consequences.
Yes, I wasn’t one of those unfortunate spectators who coughed up over £100 for a ticket, but I was anticipating a rather exciting encounter – which to a great extent I got in terms of the tennis played – and the injury and disqualification just added to the memories, created a game that will go down in history, and illustrated exactly why sport is never ever predictable.
And that’s the way I like it.