Rafael Nadal says he was wrong after calling Lorenzo Sonego to the net to discuss an issue during their Wimbledon third-round match:
Well, first of all, I have to say that I was wrong. Probably, I should not call him on the net. So apologize for that. My mistake in that. No problem. I recognize that.
Then after that, all the stuff during the match that I don’t want to comment, because is something that I spoke with him in the locker room and it stays there. Only thing I can say is I saw him personally. I apologize for that.
My intention was never to bother him at all. Just to tell one thing that was bothering me that I think he was doing in that moment, but that’s it. I think there is some codes between players. Yeah, we had some issues there. But that’s it.
Match Highlights:
Hot Shot:
I think Rafa was upset originally because Sonego wanted the roof closed when it was 4-2 in the final set and still light, and then he got annoyed because Sonego was making a lot of noise whilst the ball was still in play. As he said, he shouldn’t have had a go at him on the court, but we all lose our rag sometimes, and he did apologise at the end of the match.
I am sick of Kyrgios. He moaned all through his match, tried to get Stef defaulted – OK, there was a definite issue with hitting the ball into the crowd, but it was the umpire’s decision, not Nick’s – and he’s already admitted spitting towards the crowd in a previous round.
Tsitsipas should have done the same with Kyrios but Kyrios is disrespectful and would have made a big scene anyway..
Sonego was just to loud when he hit the ball.
Happy birthday Rafa! You are a awesome person and we love watching you! We all make mistakes. Vamos Rafa
I’m still unclear what exactly was the issue in Rafa’s match. I didn’t see much of the match because they were covering the Kyrgios- Tsitsipas match instead (and of course Nick made it miserable for everyone) – but I heard one of the commentators say that Nadal thought that Sonego was grunting late after the points, which was distracting Nadal??? Was that it or did it have something to do with closing the roof?
Rafa called over Lorenzo for a chat about grunting during the match. The Italian made a delayed grunt after he hit a return, but the biggest problem is that he did it at the time when Rafa was returning the ball.
Yeah that makes sense as one of the commentator was saying that Rafa noted that you can’t hinder your opponent’s ability to return and I guess Lorenzo was grunting long after he hit the ball. Interesting though as Kyrgios should have been called for hindrance as he talked non-stop through the two first sets of his match. I can’t stand him and I hate the way the tour coddles him, even though he is disruptive and so unprofessional! Even though Tsitsipas has his own issues, I don’t blame him for being so annoyed and angry playing Nick. If Kyrgios is so sure that he is great, why not just play good tennis without all the drama, and immature behaviour!!!!
Everyone makes mistakes. It’s how they address them. In that regard, nothing but class from him.
Yes, he should have told the umpire even though it was irritating and sonego has done this before, so no surprise really. But Sonego definitely tried to throw Rafa off his rythm by asking for the roof to be closed when there was no need to
Rafa did mention it to the umpire a few shots before calling Sonego to the net – the umpire did/said nothing so Rafa did. And Rafa is a consummate professional. Perhaps he should not have called Sonego to the net during the match – maybe a changeover would have been a better time to give the YOUNGSTER some tennis etiquette advice. Regardless, Rafa has earned the right to counsel younger players. And of course, he handled it post game with the utmost professionalism. The umpire SHOULD have done this so Rafa didn’t feel the need to.
You are such a nice guy and a true gentleman but I was with you totally, in the moment; unfortunately some people need to be told how to behave, it’s sad but true.