Toni Nadal Blasts Chair Umpire for US Open Time Violation

Rafael Nadal’s uncle and former coach Toni Nadal took a dig at the chair umpire’s decision to give a time violation to his nephew during the US Open 2019 finals against Daniil Medvedev earlier this month.

The eventual champion, Rafael Nadal received a time violation during the opening game of the 2019 US Open finals as he took his time between serves and maxed out the allowed 25 seconds.

The chair umpire, Ali Nili then penalized the Spaniard twice in the thrilling five-setter for taking too long to serve, for which, Nili was roundly booed by the crowd at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. The world No.2 was also forced to hit a second serve during the crucial moments of the match in the final set.

Toni Nadal also believes that the chair umpire should not have given the time violation warning to the 19-time Grand Slam champion in the very first game of the match. The 58-year-old Spaniard coach feels that Ali Nili should have had the common sense to not to give a warning to his nephew after a long point.

“He (Ali Nili) should have had common sense. Getting a time violation warning in the first game after a long point is unbelievable. In the end, you need to be focused and players need to be able to give time to players” Toni Nadal said in an interview.

Toni Nadal feels that the umpire should have been more lenient towards the 33-year-old by not giving a warning very quickly in a final. He also criticized the umpires for not understanding the game which they have not played.

“He should have warned Rafael to be quicker, not to give time violation warning which influences the whole final. Many times the umpires do not understand the game, they never played,” said Toni Nadal.