Rennae Stubbs, the ex-coach of former world number one Serena Williams, has criticised the chair umpire's decision to penalise Serbia’s
Novak Djokovic in the French Open third-round tie.
The 36-year-old secured a hard-fought win in five sets
against Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in the round of 64 of the competition with a
score of 7-5, 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0.
The game was an epic battle, ending at three in the morning, the latest time a game has ended in the history of the Grand Slam. During the match, Djokovic was penalised for a time violation.
The decision did not go well with Stubbs who criticised
referee in a post on her official account on the social media platform X — previously
known as Twitter. "Time violation at 3am after that epic a point is
soooooo ridiculous. Come on umpire," she wrote.
After the match, Djokovic admitted that he was in real ‘trouble’
and heaped praise on his opponent as well. “Well, I was in real trouble,” he
said. “Credit to Lorenzo for making me uncomfortable on court and playing some
really amazing tennis, really high level.
At one point, I didn’t know what to do. From both ends, he
was getting a lot of balls back, winners from both corners, good servers,
running every ball down the court. It didn’t feel great playing him in that
third set and the beginning of the fourth. I want to thank all of you and of
course the crowd and everybody that stayed until 3:30am.
“I heard it was the latest finish of Roland-Garros in
history, so I’m glad to be part of the history with Lorenzo. I told him at the
net that he played amazing and it was a great battle. I know it’s a tough one
to swallow, but he can be proud of his performance.”
Azeem Siddiqui is a seasoned sports journalist and data analyst with a strong background in both digital media and live sports production.
He began his journalism career working with partners of The New York Times and has since contributed to several leading international sports publications, including Fox Sports Asia, Calciomercato, and GiveMeSport. Since 2023, Azeem has been part of the TennisUpToDate team, where he has played a key role in sustaining the platform’s growth and ensuring tennis fans receive timely and reliable coverage of the sport’s biggest stories.
In addition to his editorial work, Azeem has extensive experience as a data analyst in live sports broadcasting—particularly in cricket—where he combines analytical precision with creative storytelling. He has collaborated with multiple production companies and cricket boards worldwide, delivering real-time insights and data-driven narratives during live match coverage.
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