federberg said:GameSetAndMath said:Billie said:From ATP rulebook:
k) Ceremonies
i) All tournament finalists must attend and participate in the post-match ceremonies, unless he is physically unable to do so as determined by the tournament Doctor. This includes retirements and finals not played due to a walkover
ii) Violation of this section shall subject a player to a fine up to $5,000.
Since he was able to walk, the only other reason why he wouldn't participate in the post-walkover ceremonies is that he didn't give a damn and would rather pay a fine than be a sportsman.
We've heard it each time when other players had to retire or skip a tournament, so it is only fair that you guys hear it this time. And frankly, I don't remember either player ditching a final of a big tournament like this. They don't feel fit and able to compete, they still go out and get their ass kicked, such is life.
I can only imagine the reactions if it were Nole withdrawing before the final here.:nono
I agree that not participating in the post-match ceremony is against the rules.
However, do we know whether he was made aware of that by the organizers/atp
in time. Given that he has never before given a walkover in a final, perhaps he
is not aware of it.
Once in a match against Andy, Novak came to the net and his racquet crossed the
net when he hit a shot. Novak was given the point as nobody noticed it. Later in the
presser, Novak admitted that his racquet indeed crossed the net in that shot, but
claimed that he did not know it is illegal. Most club players are aware of this rule,
I think. If Novak can be unaware of a rule that relates to the game, why can't
Federer be unaware of a rule that relates to post-tourney ceremony etiquette.
Well said. It's worth pointing out that where sportsmanship on court is concerned Novak is unimpeachable, so only the most trollish person would ever accuse Novak of doing something wrong in that net crossing incident. I'm not sure it had a huge impact on the outcome
He very clearly did do something wrong in that match. I find it very hard to believe that Novak doesn't know the rules of tennis. It was a close match at that point. Andy was serving at 5-6. After the first point - the point in question - the replay was shown on the big screen. Andy had obviously suspected Novak had reached over the net and the replay confirmed it. Novak could hardly deny it. Andy wasn't going to win that point BUT it should have been awarded to Andy because what Novak did was wrong. The person most at fault was the umpire because he clearly wasn't playing attention.
Andy lost that specific game because he let that incident get to him. That was his own fault. However, the same umpire had made another glaring error in a match with Andy the week before.
The argument of whether it impacted on the eventual result is not relevant. Novak's actions wouldn't have been less wrong if Andy had won the match.
When it comes to sportsmanship in tennis I would wholeheartedly agree that Novak is right up there BUT no player is perfect and that includes Novak.
