"Laughable" - Andy Roddick sides with Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev amid disputes with umpire during French Open SF
Andy Roddick has sided with Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev after the Norwegian and German both stirred controversy during their French Open semifinal loss by disputing points with the chair umpire. Ruud, in particular, faced a loud ring of boos from the crowd in attendance for his actions.
Two-time French Open finalist Ruud got off to the perfect start against Zverev, racing to a 6-2 first set win. However, the German came into his own from the next set onwards, with the Norwegian being unable to cope up with him. As a result, the World No. 4 turned the tables on Ruud, winning the second set 6-2.
Things took a turn for the worse as far as Ruud was concerned in the third set, as he took a medical timeout for a stomach issue. Despite receiving treatment, the Norwegian continued to play through pain, often bending over between points; a clear sign of his physical struggles.
The ever-opportunistic Zverev capitalized on his opponent's health woes and won the third and fourth sets 6-4 and 6-2 respectively to reach his maiden French Open final.
During the early stages of the decisive fourth set, Ruud called out the chair umpire Marijana Veljovic's decision to award a point to Zverev following a booming serve from the German. According to Ruud, the ball had landed out. Veljovic came down from her chair and proceeded to have an elaborate conversation with the Norwegian over the matter. Despite Ruud's complaints, Veljovic stuck to her decision.
Moments later, Veljovic became embroiled in another dispute. This time around, it was Zverev who took issue with the umpire as she awarded a point to Ruud even though one of the line judges appeared to call the Norwegian's forehand out.
Former World No. 1 Andy Roddick, who was keeping a close eye on things, took to X (formerly Twitter) to ridicule Veljovic. According to Roddick, most umpires are not in a position to explain to players "how a ball travels and how to read a mark".
"An umpire explaining to a player how a ball travels and how to read a mark is always laughable to me. Most tour umpires have barely played. Can’t replace a lifetime of up close reps," Andy Roddick wrote.
Andy Roddick backed Coco Gauff earlier this year after her heated exchange with a chair umpire at the Dubai Tennis Championships
In February this year, Andy Roddick had defended compatriot Coco Gauff after the latter's involvement in an argument with chair umpire Pierre Bacchi in the third round of the Dubai Tennis Championships. The dispute stemmed from Bacci not awarding a point to Gauff despite her successful challenge of a fault serve, which her opponent Karolina Pliskova failed to return.
2003 US Open champion Roddick criticized the umpire over the "absurd exchange" and called his decision "completely wrong".
"This is an absurd exchange for this umpire. 1. He’s completely wrong 2. He’s lying about being wrong. 3. She must have simply said 10 plus times, I’d like the supervisor. That’s not a judgement call. He simply needed to honor that normal request and call the supervisor," Andy Roddick wrote on X.
Fortunately for Gauff, the umpire's decision did not make a significant impact on the final result, as she came back from a set down to win the match 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.