Nestor makes a racket over officiating
Spain victorious in tiebreakers
Daniel Nestor has been playing competitive tennis for 25 years, spanning more than 1,600 matches.
And it might just be the raw nerves talking after a close-fought two-tiebreaker loss in the semifinals of the Olympic men’s doubles, but Nestor said he had never seen such blown calls.
“I’ve been playing a long time, and I haven’t seen calls missed that badly,” Nestor said after he and partner Vasek Pospisil appealed twice, without success, to chair umpire Emmanuel Joseph over what they thought were missed calls in the 7-6 (1), 7-6 (4) loss to the Spanish team of Rafael Nadal and Marc Lopez.
The first non-call came early, with the Canadians having just broken Lopez’s serve to take a 3-1 lead in the first set. At deuce in the following game, a lob shot from Nadal appeared to land beyond the baseline and both Canadians immediately asked Joseph to rule out the ball after the baseline umpire said nothing. Spain would go on to break back and the teams traded service holds until a tiebreaker at the end of the set, which the Spaniards dominated.
Nestor said afterward the noncall loomed large. Had they been able to consolidate the break and take a 4-1 lead, the match might have turned out quite differently.
The second call wasn’t as costly. Down 6-5 in the second set, Nestor smashed a cross-court volley that appeared to land in, just a few feet to the chair umpire’s right. It was ruled out. This time Nestor was incredulous, ultimately telling the chair umpire, “later tonight, we’ll watch the replay together.”
The Canadians pulled out that game to send the set to a tiebreaker. That one was closer than the tiebreaker in the first, but Pospisil double-faulted once and Nestor did so twice, including on match point, and that sent Spain to a goldmedal match against Romania. The Canadians are left to play for the bronze Friday against Steve Johnson and Jack Sock of the U.S.
After the match, as Nadal bearhugged his much smaller partner and flopped to the court with him in a full-body embrace, Nestor had more angry words with the umpire. Asked after his match what he said, Nestor said he told Joseph that the calls were “ridiculous.”
When it was pointed out the second of the calls was on a ball that landed near the chair, Nestor just shook his head in disgust. “What do you want me to say that you can’t say yourselves?” he asked.
I’ve been playing a long time, and I haven’t seen calls missed that badly.