Jordan Thompson was livid with the umpire and accused him of ‘pressing the panic button’ during his closely-fought clash against Stefanos Tsitsipas. The score was tied at 3-3 in the second set with Tsitsipas on break point when the controversy struck.
A line judge called Tsitsipas’ shot out – and the umpire overruled it – before Thompson returned the effort. It meant the point had to be replayed, allowing the Greek star another shot at a crucial break.
“That call came way before I took the shot,” Thompson raged. “Don’t shake your head because we’re going to watch it later and you’re going to admit that you’re wrong. That is a joke, an absolute joke.
“I didn’t play my shot because I wasn’t even trying, the call came so early. The call came a good two seconds before I made the shot. After the match we’re going to go and watch it and you’re going to apologise.”
Tsitsipas went on to convert the break point after a long rally and Thompson blasted the umpire some more when he returned to his court-side seat. But first, he asked a Wimbledon official stood court-side: “Did you see it? Is he wrong? 100 per cent. It’s a joke.”
He then turned to the umpire and ranted: “You don’t need to make the call just because you’ve hit the panic button. It’s a joke. What are you laughing at? You are going to apologise! Straight after!”
Tsitsipas romped to a 6-2 victory in the first set and continued to take advantage of Thompson losing his cool to claim the second set 6-3.
The fourth seed feels he had a good preparation for Wimbledon after winning the title in Mallorca.
“Well, it definitely helps having a victory before a big event like this,” he said. “Grass court here is completely different. It’s perfect. You never get misbounces, which sometimes can help and sometimes doesn’t really help that much.
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