Tennis player Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who is set to play at Wimbledon, harshly criticized an umpire during a match in Eastbourne, calling them the “worst I`ve seen.” He demanded the supervisor be called after receiving a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The incident occurred when Davidovich Fokina was trailing 5-4 in the second set against Jakub Mensik, immediately after he smashed his racquet on the court.
This decision, unsurprisingly, did not improve his mood. Davidovich Fokina then became visibly angry with the umpire and refused to accept the violation.
During the break between games, the Spanish player aggressively argued against the call.
He claimed his racquet had landed outside the court boundaries, stating: “Call the supervisor, I don’t accept that warning.”
Sitting down, he continued his outburst, yelling: “You’re the worst umpire I have seen. The worst. I don’t know how you can sit there. I threw it three times and you didn’t say nothing. I did it outside, outside the baseline. Video review it. Why you put a warning? It was outside the baseline.”
ATP supervisor Jerry Armstrong was summoned to address the situation and informed Davidovich Fokina that hitting a racquet on the grass surface was against the rules.
After calming down, the world number 28 regained control and won three consecutive games to defeat third seed Mensik in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5.
He is now scheduled to face American Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals, with the final set for Sunday.
Davidovich Fokina is seeded 26th for Wimbledon, which starts next Monday.
