Mikael Ymer finally left a mark the chair umpire could see.
The Swedish tennis player was disqualified in the Lyon Open’s Round of 16 on Wednesday after putting a hole in the chair umpire’s seat by whacking his racquet off its base.
That came in protest to the umpire’s refusal to inspect a ball mark that Ymer thought was out, not even showing Ymer where he thought the ball hit the line.
That led to an extended conversation between Ymer and the umpire, in which the 24-year-old argued that in a match the previous day, Richard Gasquet had requested a mark be checked in a similar situation.
“Show me the mark then. Show me the mark,” Ymer said. “You thought it clearly bounced on the line? Then show me the mark on the line.
“ … I’ve never witnessed that a ref said I’m not gonna go down and check the mark. No, it doesn’t happen.”
Gaston fined for unsportsmanlike conduct | 00:33
On clay courts, ball mark inspections substitute for hawk-eye review, since the mark is almost always visible.
Ymer’s opponent, Arthur Fils, went on to win the game, breaking Ymer in the process.
Ymer proceeded to walk over to the chair and smash his racquet, leading to an inevitable disqualification.
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“Not justifying the reaction at all but the amount of people that think a bad bounce = line hit is insane.” American Taylor Fritz wrote on Twitter. “Crazy bounces happen all over the court and especially near lines.”
Ymer, ranked 51st in the world, will enter the French Open next week looking for redemption.
He previously got as far as the third round at Roland Garros.
This story originally appeared on the NY Post and is reproduced with permission.
