Denis Shapovalov acknowledged he had misspoken when he charged chair umpire Carlos Bernardes with being ‘corrupt’ during his five-set loss to Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open.
The 22-year-old, however, said Nadal was allowed to get away with too much. “Where is the line?” the Canadian asked.
If the Spaniard, notoriously slow between points, winding down the clock at every opportunity, got away with too much on the day, Bernardes was not the only lenient umpire at Melbourne Park this fortnight, where the conditions have been brutal.
“And then after the fourth set, he’s getting medically evaluated. He had already taken two medicals,” said a furious Shapovalov, confusing medical time-outs with toilet breaks. “After the evaluation, the guy goes and takes a toilet break.”
“It was a big break after the fourth set and the momentum just goes away.”
Shapovalov said Nadal gets preferential treatment. “Every other match that I have played, the pace has been so quick because the refs have been on the clock after every single point.”
“It's just so frustrating,” he said. “You're not just playing against the player; you're playing against the umpires, you're playing against so much more.”
