Mikael Ymer was disqualified from the Lyon Open on Wednesday after he smashed his racquet on the umpire’s chair following an argument over a line call.
Key points:
- Mikael Ymer was disqualified from the ATP 250 event in Lyon
- Ymer struck the umpire’s chair twice with his racquet before tossing the remnants over his shoulder
- His opponent Arthur Fils will play top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the next round
Swede Ymer was playing Frenchman Arthur Fils in the last 16 of the ATP 250 event when the 24-year-old argued with the umpire over a return and pointed to a mark on the clay to make his case.
The umpire said he saw the ball bounce on the line but Ymer, ranked number 53 in the world, was furious that he did not come down from his chair to get a closer look.
“Why are you not even going to come down and check the mark?” Ymer asked, referencing a match on Tuesday involving Richard Gasquet, where the same referee did go to check the mark.
“Are you telling me you’re not even going to come down and check the mark?”
As the crowd jeered its disapproval, Ymer continued his discussion with the chair umpire.
“Show me the mark on the line.
“I’ve never witnessed that a ref says, ‘I’m not going to go down and check the mark.’ It doesn’t happen.”
Ymer continued playing but after Fils broke to lead 6-5 in the opening set the Swede lost his cool and smashed his racquet twice on the side of the umpire’s chair, looking up at the umpire between blows.
“He’s going to be gone here,” the commentator said as Ymer nonchalantly tossed the remnants of his racquet over his shoulder before sitting down.
“I think this is done. You can’t do that.
“There’s just no way this can carry on.”
With the crowd jeering loudly the umpire discussed the matter with a tournament official, who informed Ymer he had been disqualified.
The Swede accepted the decision and congratulated Fils, who moved into the quarter finals where he will face top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Reuters/ABC
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