Nadal keeps eye on clock and umpire over service delay


  • Tennis
  • Sunday, 01 Jun 2014

PARIS (Reuters) - Rafa Nadal is pleased by his performances so far at Roland Garros but is definitely not happy about being told he takes too long to serve. The eight-times French Open champion’s pre-serve routine seems to get more extended every time he appears at the tournament and Pascal Maria, the chair umpire for his three-set defeat of Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer on Saturday, takes a hard line on how long it all takes. A rule introduced in 2013 sets a time limit of 25 seconds for a player to serve. Nadal was called twice by Maria during a match in Monte Carlo in April and again on Saturday during his third-round match.

“After the warning I frowned a little and then I continued, I accepted,” Nadal said. “Sometimes I think that this is fair, because it's true to say that I'm slow. So these warnings are fair. But today, no.

Win a prize this Mother's Day by subscribing to our annual plan now! T&C applies.

Monthly Plan

RM13.90/month

Annual Plan

RM12.33/month

Billed as RM148.00/year

1 month

Free Trial

For new subscribers only


Cancel anytime. No ads. Auto-renewal. Unlimited access to the web and app. Personalised features. Members rewards.
Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!
   

Next In Tennis

Tennis-Medvedev withdraws from Madrid Open as Lehecka advances into semis
Tennis-Swiatek dismantles Keys to reach second straight Madrid final
Tennis-Fiery Rublev keeps a cool head to move on in Madrid
Tennis-Flawless Rublev knocks out champion Alcaraz to move into Madrid semis
Tennis-Rybakina survives Putintseva scare to reach Madrid semis, Sabalenka eases past Andreeva
Tennis-Nadal bids farewell to Madrid after defeat by Lehecka
Tennis-Djokovic splits with fitness coach in latest shakeup
Tennis-Swiatek and Keys roar back to reach Madrid semi-finals
Tennis-Champions Canada to face Britain or Germany in BJK Cup Finals
Tennis-Battling Nadal beats Cachin to reach Madrid Open fourth round

Others Also Read