TENNIS:QUEEN'S: David Nalbandian was disqualified from yesterday's Queen's Championships final against Marin Cilic after kicking an advertising panel in to a line judge's leg.
Nalbandian won the first set on a tie-break but reacted angrily after being broken for the second time in the second set.
Having just lost the seventh game Nalbandian fiercely kicked an advertising board in front of line judge Andrew McDougall’s chair. The board smacked into the line judge’s shin and a caused an inch-long bloody gash.
Referee Fergus Murphy then awarded Cilic the match, and the championship, disqualifying Nalbandian for “unsportsmanlike behaviour”.
Nalbandian was apologetic for his actions, going over to McDougall but following consultation with ATP supervisor Tom Barnes, the match was abandoned.
Queen’s Tournament official Chris Kermode told BBC1: “We’re in the middle of a wonderful final and David Nalbandian ran across and in frustration kicked a panel underneath the line judge.
“The panel went into his leg and cut it – he’s quite seriously injured. The game has ended with a code violation.
“David is struggling to come to terms with it. He clearly regrets what happened – but these things happen.
“It’s sold out and they are watching some great tennis, so to have the match end this way is quite disappointing.
“But there’s not a lot we can do about it. We are under the governance of ATP rules.
“You’d like to think you can bend the rules but if you allow it it sets a precedent. If you start changing the rules you have to be very clear.”
HALLE OPEN:Tommy Haas showed he was still capable of springing a surprise at the age of 34 when he ended a three-year title drought with a shock 7-6 6-4 win over Roger Federer in the Halle Open final yesterday.
The German, who needed a wildcard to play in the event as he is now ranked 87th, had declared himself “mystified” with his unexpected passage to the final.
He was even more amazed after beating a 30-year-old opponent who was the overwhelming favourite to win a sixth title at the Wimbledon warm-up event.
“This has been one of the best weeks of my career but I reckon I won’t really appreciate what’s happened until this evening,” Haas said after winning his 13th career trophy. “If someone had said to me beforehand that I was going to beat Roger Federer, probably the best player of all time, I would have thought they were mad.”
Federer has already enjoyed a memorable week at the German town after the main pathway up to the tennis stadium was named after him.
“I’m very impressed with how he played today. Tommy deserved to win,” said Federer, who had been chasing his fifth title of the season and 75th overall. “I should never have lost the first set, so that hurt. He got momentum after that.”
