Nicolas Jarry accused opponent the British Cameron Norrie of serving gamesmanship during their Wimbledon fourth-round match. His contention was Norrie was bouncing the ball too many times before serving, then pausing as if about to hit a second serve, only to revert to bouncing the ball again.
Norrie won a four-hour, 27-minute marathon 6-3,7-6,6-7,6-7,6-3 but the controversy erupted mid match, at the end of the second set. Norrie had taken a bathroom break at that stage when Jarry began venting to the chair umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore.
“What is the rule there? The problem is, is it normal to do that when it affects the other player?” Jarry asked Moore during the break. “You have to intervene there or I have to suck it. That’s the real issue, it doesn’t matter the reason. It is the same as hitting the ball anywhere. It’s something that he can control. It’s not a nervous tick,” Jarry told Moore. “You think there’s nothing I can do so I just have to suck it up, because he does it always. That’s a reason for me to have to play with something that affects me. It can be changed, it’s not something that cannot be changed.”
Chair umpire Moore replied: “I am going to step in if I think there is a reason to step in.”
That didn’t entirely appease Jarry: “I don’t want to force you into anything. I just want to do what the rules say. And if there is not a rule then tell me and I cannot do anything about it.”
Both players fell to the ground at the end of the match, Jarry in an attempt to retrieve the ball and Norrie in utter relief of the triumph. The fans booed at Jarry during handshake as the players exchanged a few words.
On the BBC airwaves, former tennis star Pat Cash had his say on the sportsmanship controversy, siding with Norrie.
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You can bounce the ball 35 times if you want between first and second serve. That is the anomaly. There are a few weird things in tennis. If you are late coming in for a first serve, you have been running all over the place, and you are tired, all you have to do is get to the line and throw the ball and catch it, and then you can bounce the ball 20 or 30 times.
“But I don’t think Cam does it that extreme. Novak [Djokovic] used to bounce the ball 20 or 30 times. He is regrouping himself and that’s the anomaly of the rule. I don’t agree with quite a few of the silly rules of tennis that they have.
“But Norrie is within his rights to do so. You can go for a toilet break. I went for two toilet breaks in my whole career over five sets, but they go every set. So as he (Jarry) said, I don’t mind you as a player, but that’s a bit extreme. He has got a bit of a point there, I suppose. I have not seen Cam bounce the ball that much, I have to be honest. So maybe this is something that he has decided. I am a bit tired, I just need extra breathing space between points.
“I have never seen him bounce the ball that much, so maybe that is just something he has done today.”
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