There was drama in the first men’s semi-final at Wimbledon as BBC commentators claimed that “something serious” was brewing when umpire Eva Asderaki left her chair to speak with the supervisor and referee.
When she returned, she gave Daniil Medvedev a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct.
There was speculation that the world No. 5 had been close to a default when he seemed to take issue with the chair official calling a “not up” against him.
Medvedev attempted to serve out the first set against Carlos Alcaraz at 5-3. Facing a break point, he chased down a drop shot and struggled to make it.
The Spaniard continued playing but the official, Eva Asderaki-Moore, called the score believing that the point was a “not up” – meaning the ball bounced twice before Medvedev hit it. It meant Alcaraz broke back to keep himself alive.
The Russian then appeared to immediately say something to the umpire in response to her call. During the next changeover, Asderaki-Moore got off her seat to speak to the referee and supervisor.
“I am just wondering after this point whether Medvedev has said something to the umpire for the referee and supervisor to come on the court,” Todd Woodbridge said on BBC commentary. Andrew Cotter replied: “He did say something to her but we don’t know what that was. We are possibly finding out what has been said. It’s a huge frustration for Medvedev, trying to serve out the first set.”
And Woodbridge added: “This is something serious brewing.” Medvedev stayed at his bench while Alcaraz got up and waited at the baseline. Asderaki-Moore returned to her chair and announced that the fifth seed received a code violation but play continued.
“Code violation, unsportsmanlike conduct. Warning Mr Medvedev,” she said. Tim Henman, also commentating on the match for the BBC, noted how serious it was for the umpire to speak with the supervisor and referee.
“If he was to get another warning then he would lose a point. That was an interesting moment,” he explained. “For the umpire to come off her chair and have the referee and the supervisor on the court.”
When play continued, Cotter implied that Medvedev could have been defaulted. He remarked: “I’m sure there will be lots more talk over what has happened at the end and what was said. We’ll talk about it more at a quieter point in this match but there is a chance that Medvedev has gotten away with something other than just getting a violation. Something more. It ought to be discussed.”
Medvedev recovered to take the first set in a tiebreak, dropping just one point to the reigning champion as he secured a 7-6(1) lead after 58 minutes.
