Adolfo Daniel Vallejo said his French Open second-round match should not have been umpired by Ana Carvalho, arguing she was not strong enough to control the crowd. Vallejo faced Moise Kouame, a 17-year-old French player, on Court Suzanne Lenglen. Kouame was supported by home supporters and won a five-set match lasting four hours and 56 minutes. Vallejo objected to the time Kouame was allowed between points, saying the crowd was out of line and that shouting continued without play. He also claimed Kouame took advantage of delays by stalling and lying on the floor. Tournament organisers were contacted for comment.
"This sort of match needs to be umpired by a man, it's very difficult for a woman to do it. It has to be refereed by a man, because it's a very demanding crowd and you need a lot of strength to go against the crowd."
"The crowd was very out of line, but I understand they are supporting their compatriot. It's quite an intense crowd and that's why I was prepared. I already knew it would be like that and, to be honest, it didn't harm me, but rather strengthened him."
"I think he took up a lot of time on many occasions, lying on the floor or stalling. And it's not normal for the crowd to be shouting for a full minute without any play. In a match where the physical aspect matters so much, if you give a player a lot of time, he's obviously going to take advantage of it."
"Players are allowed to take 25 seconds between points, with a clock counting down on the scoreboard, but umpires can use discretion as to when to start the countdown if there is a lot of noise from the crowd."
Read at www.theguardian.com
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