Extremely tense situation at the Mexican Open: Terence Atmane loses a match for a time violation
Terence Atmane lost a match to Miomir Kecmanović due to a time penalty when he was about to serve at the Mexican Open.
Have time penalties in tennis gone too far? On Thursday (Friday early morning in European time), the 26-year-old Serbian player Miomir Kecmanović defeated the 24-year-old French player Terence Atmane in the Mexican Open quarter-final. With a 6-3, 6-3, perhaps defeat was inevitable for Atmane, but it doesn't make the decisive match point less painful for the French player... who lost the match because of a time violation.
Atmane, serving to avoid a match point, with Kecmanovic up on Advantage, took longer to serve, drying his racket with a towel. While he was doing that, the chair umpire announced time violation, point for his rival, and therefore the match had ended. Atmane stood still, silent and serious for several seconds, while the crowd booed the umpire. Resigned, he saluted Kecmanovic, who did not celebrate the victory and tried to cheer him up.
Reactions are divided, with some saying the the umpire should be more flexible, specially as he was preparing to serve to avoid a match point, but the rules are the rules, and Atmane, despite having a warning, chose to ask for a towel instead.
Kecmanović will next face Flavio Cobolli in semifinals on Saturday, while Frances Tiafoe faces Brandon Nakashima in the other semifinal. Valentin Vacherot, Mattia Bellucci and Wu Yibign were also eliminated in quarter-finals, in a tournament that also saw Alexander Zverev and Alex de Miñaur losing in second and first round.
