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British Daniel Evans beat France’s Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 to progress to the third round of the Australian Open on Thursday.
Evans, 32, rallied to defeat Chardy in under two hours to set up a tie with World No. 6 Andrey Rublev.
But it was Chardy who won the attention of many with an outburst at the chair umpire in the first set. Facing a break point, a ball dropped out of the Frenchman’s pocket midway through a rally and he put a forehand into the net with his next shot to lose the point.
Chardy immediately appealed to the chair umpire but Miriam Bley ruled that the point would not be replayed, with Evans pointing out that he neither saw the ball drop out of the pocket nor did he complain about it.
“We play with someone who cannot umpire,” Chardy said. “In my life, 20 years I’ve never had one umpire bad like you. Where are you looking? You looking at the birds? The clouds?
“It’s the biggest mistake of the Australian Open. There’s not one umpire on tour that does this mistake, not one.”
He then called for a supervisor and said: “If you don’t confirm that I called let, I lose all respect for you. She’s lying. Can she have a fine? When we do something bad we are fined, can she have a fine?”
Evans did not agree with Chardy’s suggestions that the point should be replayed.
“I think the rule should be if a ball comes out of your pocket, you lose the point,” he said. “He missed the ball.
“If a ball comes out your pocket, it’s your own fault.”