Refereeing errors are an integral part of tennis. Especially during the clay season when many tournaments do not have a video replay system. In disputed situations, the decision is made at the discretion of the referee after examining the mark of the ball on the surface, this is not always done correctly;
You can remember the situation with Daniil Medvedev’s discontent at the recent Monte Carlo Masters. Daniil then lost one game each in matches with Gael Monfils and Karen Khachanov due to serious referee errors. In the second case, this was largely reflected in the unsuccessful final result of the meeting for Medvedev. Then former world number one and 2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick actively defended Daniil.
Related materials
“He is right when he argues with the judges.” The American TBS champion staunchly defended Medvedev
At one point, Roddick also suffered a refereeing error on clay during the Rome Masters in 2005. It is true that it was in favor of the American, who acted honestly and reported the inaccuracy to the judge. This cost Roddick victory in the match with Fernando Verdasco, who did not argue with the referee and was already about to shake his opponent’s hand at the net. Andy then demonstrated one of the most striking examples of sportsmanship in tennis.
Andy Roddick at the Rome Masters in 2005
Photo: Ian Walton/Getty Images
Clay wasn’t even close to being Roddick’s favorite surface. Andy won five of his 32 career ATP titles there, but all of them were in fairly minor events in Houston (three times), Atlanta and St. Pölten. At Roland Garros, Roddick never made it past the fourth round, and that happened only once, in 2009. At the Clay Masters, the American’s best result was two semi-finals in Rome (2002, 2008).
Andy has always urged his fans to temper their expectations in the spring portion of the season.
“For me, the best result on clay is a good match on clay. On hard clay, if I’m in good shape, I consider myself obligated to go further, but on clay it’s different,” Roddick said.
At Rome 2005, Roddick did not have to defend his points. A year earlier, he was eliminated there in the first round, having not recovered from a terrible hotel fire.
Related materials
Terrible fire in the hotel. The best tennis players almost died before the Rome Masters in 2004
Andy won first place in the tournament in the capital of Italy. He first defeated the British Greg Rusedski (6-4, 6-2). In the second round, Andy defeated the Spanish Albert Costa (6-4, 7-5). Quite a great achievement. Costa was going through a decline, but was still considered a strong clay player and was Roland Garros champion in 2002.
In the third round, Roddick faced another Spaniard, Fernando Verdasco. He doesn’t want to say that the game was easy for Andy, but little by little he walked towards victory. In the second set, with the score 7:6, 5:3, Roddick earned a triple match point on his opponent’s serve.
Verdasco failed to get the first ball. On the second serve he took advantage of the opportunity and scored an ace, but the referee whistled out, which meant a double fault and the loss in the match. Fernando did not dispute this decision and calmly went to shake Roddick’s hand at the net. But Andy himself stopped him. The American did not agree with the referee’s decision and showed him the mark on the ball, which was partially on the service line.
The video is available on the Tennis TV YouTube channel. The rights to the video belong to the ATP.
Verdasco scored one point in this rally. Roddick still had two match points left on Fernando’s serve and then, if they didn’t come through, he had the opportunity to serve for the match himself. However, after this noble act, Roddick’s game went completely wrong. Verdasco took the initiative, taking the second set in the tiebreaker and then the match in three games 6:7, 7:6; 6:4.
Fernando Verdasco at a tournament in Rome in 2005
Photo: Ian Walton/Getty Images
Andy Roddick received a standing ovation from the crowd in Rome, but in the post-match press conference he downplayed the importance of his honest act, which ultimately cost him victory.
“I don’t think he did anything extraordinary. The tower referee would have seen for himself that the ball had touched the line if he had come down from the tower and assessed the mark. I just saved him some energy,” Roddick said.
“Other players probably wouldn’t have done what Andy did. But I’m sure that in his place I would have done the same thing,” Verdasco said about the episode.
Related materials
“He acted like a human being.” Djokovic was impressed by the nobility of his opponent in Madrid in 2016
In fact, the chair umpire would not have seen his mistake, as Roddick said. He didn’t even think about going down to look at the mark on the ball. Andy could have easily achieved a victory that not even Verdasco challenged, but he decided to act honestly. As a result, he lost the match, but earned the respect of tennis fans. These examples of nobility on the court are extremely rare, especially at such an important moment in the game.
