Genuine question about crowd interference in the FAA - Zverev match

[Jai]

I haven't seen him that much but Sinner seems like a pretty quiet guy. And just does his business on court. No BS. I guess Korda the same but I haven't seen all that much of him either. I think you need a mix. You get a quiet guy like sinner that just plays. But then you get a Nick.

Did you watch the Korda--Khachanov match yesterday? I missed it; heard it was wild with all those service breaks.

 

[Mr.Lob]

Have security in the stands on the lookout for this foolishness. Throw them out on their bum and banned from future events.. Fans trying to effect the outcome of a match by intentional disruptions and provocation of the players should not be tolerated. It certainly is not tolerated in similar sports, such as golf.

 

[Jai]

Borg is 6 years younger than me. I know, it's depressing.

I remember him in the news as a shy teenager. A huge amount of his appeal was the mystery. No one knew much about him because he was such a quiet man.

Vitas and Borg are examples of total opposites who clicked. And of course who would have guessed that Mac would have so much respect for Borg!

Imagine a man like Borg today. He's have a whole team, better training, no need to feel lonely or isolated. I think such a player would be great for tennis.

Interesting tidbit about Borg and the others. I remember watching some tennis documentary, where it was mentioned that one of the reasons Vitas did so badly against Borg was because they were such good friends off court, it was difficult for him to summon up the "killer instinct" as it were. Ofc, there was the obvious gulf of talent between them, too.

 

[Jai]

Have security in the stands on the lookout for this foolishness. Throw them out on their bum and banned from future events.. Fans trying to effect the outcome of a match by intentional disruptions and provocation of the players should not be tolerated. It certainly is not tolerated in similar sports, such as golf.

True. I do agree that after an explicit request for quiet from the umpire and a warning, if repeated disruptive behaviour happens then the offending spectator must be ejected.

 

[PrinceMoron]

Was up on Saturday and there were 4 idiots who kept shouting out
Bring back masks I say

 

[Thriller]

I agree with the OP. It also makes a mockery of having a Tennis Integrity Unit investigating illegal betting if you are then going to not take action against punters who are clearly trying to illicit a break of serve.
It would be interesting to see the betting patterns for that match and how they correlated with this woman's activity.

 

[Tshooter]

Interesting tidbit about Borg and the others. I remember watching some tennis documentary, where it was mentioned that one of the reasons Vitas did so badly against Borg was because they were such good friends off court, it was difficult for him to summon up the "killer instinct" as it were. Ofc, there was the obvious gulf of talent between them, too.

The too part.

The rest is a nice story but Borg was on another level as a tennis player. It was Borg/JMac/Connors >>>>>>.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Vitas. It was not a Big 3 + Murray situation.

 

[SonnyT]

Players in other sports don’t seem to mind the yelling from the crowd and are able to block it out and perform. It is only the old country club sports like tennis and golf that seem to ask for silence from the crowd and yet when they play Davis Cup, it is not a problem for the same players to have screaming fans.

If there's a lot noise, then it cancels out in a wash. But if there's only one single sound in a sea of dead silence, it interrupts the concentration.

Players say it's very noticeable in the pandemic, especially in baseball, where a batter needs the same kind of concentration that a tennis player has in returning a serve, or a golfer in putting.

 

[Thriller]

If there's a lot noise, then it cancels out in a wash. But if there's only one single sound in a sea of dead silence, it interrupts the concentration.

Players say it's very noticeable in the pandemic, especially in baseball, where a batter needs the same kind of concentration that a tennis player has in returning a serve, or a golfer in putting.

If she did this in a snooker championship match, she wouldn't have got a second chance, the disgusted audience would have identified her and she would have been frogmarched out.

 

[Jai]

If she did this in a snooker championship match, she wouldn't have got a second chance, the disgusted audience would have identified her and she would have been frogmarched out.

That's an interesting point, and I wonder what happened to the Jamie Zhu character who's been referred to in post #42. So blatantly disruptive and provocative. I would certainly hope he was ejected, others in the audience around him look massively irritated, too. I'm sure they would have been more than willing to point him out to the marshals, were they needed to identify the heckler.

 

[Raul_SJ]

There is a code violation mechanism for players. Shouldn't there be one implemented for disruptive spectators, too?

Other posts have said that an umpire is restricted to asking for quiet. After that, remedy for any fan noise during the toss is out of his hands.

But FAA could have given Zverev another serve. This is where players need to step up.

 

[Jai]

Other posts have said that an umpire is restricted to asking for quiet. After that, remedy for any fan noise during the toss is out of his hands.

But FAA could have given Zverev another serve. This is where players need to step up.

I agree, that would have been a sporting thing to do. To be fair, though, expecting it in such pressure cooker situations might not fructify.
Is the umpire really restricted in only asking for quiet, though? What if a section of the audience does not comply with repeated requests/warnings?
Like the lady in the Rafa match who was ejected, surely blatant heckling must be dealt with?

 

[Tennis Fan States63]

Federer hit a volley in the stands when someone shouted as he was hitting the ball. It’s true that people are becoming less classy even at Wimbledon. I’m not sure anything can be done about it.

To prevent single instances? Probably not.....but with all of the video and security, if they were tossed and permanently banned from the grounds, that would be a darn good deterrent.

 

[Tshooter]

Other posts have said that an umpire is restricted to asking for quiet. After that, remedy for any fan noise during the toss is out of his hands.

But FAA could have given Zverev another serve. This is where players need to step up.

While not common, I‘ve seen the umpire have people removed for less obvious disruptions. People with close to the court seats can annoy a player by persistently heckling them and the umpire is too far away to hear it. Usually it can be “controlled‘ by other fans telling the person(s) to keep quiet but if this doesn’t work I’ve seen players complain to the umpire, fans poimt out the perp and after some directive by the umpire the person(s) either moved back by security or ejected. Usually it gets a cheer at least in the local section that realizes what has happened.

 

[Raul_SJ]

Is the umpire really restricted in only asking for quiet, though? What if a section of the audience does not comply with repeated requests/warnings?

Not sure what the rule is but would not be surprised if umpire is restricted from replaying the serve due to yelling. Throwing the spectator out is a different issue than replaying the point. Umpire could probably request removal.

Tsitsipas apparently requested a replay but was denied.

In 2018 Toronto final Tsitsi missed a 1st serve because of a spectator yelling, the umpire told him he can't do anything except ask for quiet..

 

[SonnyT]

If there's a lot noise, then it cancels out in a wash. But if there's only one single sound in a sea of dead silence, it interrupts the concentration.

A boxer, or a fighter, is warned never to look anyone in the eye, especially that of a beautiful woman, during breaks of a bout. Apparently, it's common practice for the opposing camp to plant beautiful women around the ring, just to ruin the concentration of a fighter.

 

[Jai]

A boxer, or a fighter, is warned never to look anyone in the eye, especially that of a beautiful woman, during breaks of a bout. Apparently, it's common practice for the opposing camp to plant beautiful women around the ring, just to ruin the concentration of a fighter.

Really? That sounds like a machiavellian tactic!!

 

[Raul_SJ]

This sometimes happens during matches in which Federer isn't even playing. I was at a Nadal match at the US Open (I forget who his opponent was but it wasn't a big name), and some idiot was yelling stuff about Roger in between points right after the applause died down and the player was about to serve. It's so irritating.

Yes, the entire crowd becomes quiet, and it is usually just one or two guys out of the 10,000 that yell out just before the toss. But amazingly they become dead silent just when the toss is released. Have never heard a yell after toss was released... But apparently it happened with Zverev by a fervent Felix supporter (or a Zverev hater).

 

[Russeljones]

What an absolutely moronic f*cken post

Did I step on a Leaver toe?

 

[beard]

I never expect much from the Wimbledon crowd. It has always been an uneducated crowd in terms of their understanding of the game. Everything from the royal boxes and the highlighting of famous people in the guest section just screams "a day at the races" for me and it doesn't lend itself to serious viewing.

The person signalling "one more point" in 2019 and the heckler in the Zverev vs FAA are just the latest examples.

In regard to Zverev, I'm not sure if the person screaming out was specifically ABZ but I'm actually surprised he is not getting heckled a lot more often since the domestic abuse allegations came out.

The Tennis media has decided to stop addressing the issue but I'm surprised more people arent still restless. I don't consider the issue resolved and it totally changed my view of Zverev (who I previously liked a lot). There may be plenty of other tennis fans out there who are resentful about the way the issue was handled and have a newly acquired dim view of Zverev.

So, you convinced man without trial, and are disappointed others don't do the same?

 

[ollinger]

Too much is made of little noises; WTT players serve and play with a crowd encouraged to make noise while play goes on. A serve should be such an ingrained thing that a little noise should not be a factor. Let them come play on my town's courts, conveniently located right next to the town's recycling center.

 

[Subway Tennis]

So, you convinced man without trial, and are disappointed others don't do the same?

I consider the matter completely unresolved, and I wasn't happy with the way Zverev addressed it. It totally changed my view of Zverev (who I previously liked a lot).

There may be plenty of other tennis fans out there who are resentful about the way the issue was handled and have negative views of Zverev as a result. I am surprised that he hasn't suffered more blowback from it. Maybe the heckling he received in the match against FAA was related to it, maybe it wasn't. I don't know whether it was or not (please see previous post).

 

[reaper]

Yes, the entire crowd becomes quiet, and it is usually just one or two guys out of the 10,000 that yell out just before the toss. But amazingly they become dead silent just when the toss is released. Have never heard a yell after toss was released... But apparently it happened with Zverev by a fervent Felix supporter (or a Zverev hater).

Strange what you remember. In the US Open semi final in 1984 Lendl beat Pat Cash in a 5th set tie breaker. A spectator yelled out during Cash's 2nd serve when down match point just as he was about to strike the ball. Cash managed to abort the serve but it did him no good...he lost the match anyway. That's the only time I recall someone in the crowd really messing up a player's serve.

 

[reaper]

Strange what you remember. In the US Open semi final in 1984 Lendl beat Pat Cash in a 5th set tie breaker. A spectator yelled out during Cash's 2nd serve when down match point just as he was about to strike the ball. Cash managed to abort the serve but it did him no good...he lost the match anyway. That's the only time I recall someone in the crowd really messing up a player's serve.

Hopefully the link is to a youtube video to verify that my memory is good.....for things that happened an eternity ago.

 

[Sparlingo]

Other posts have said that an umpire is restricted to asking for quiet. After that, remedy for any fan noise during the toss is out of his hands.

But FAA could have given Zverev another serve. This is where players need to step up.

Shapo offered Andy another serve after a flash camera went off and Andy declined

 

[Aabye5]

Wait a minute. This was a hard core FAA trying to disturb Zverev? Did not know Felix had fans.

We've been here all along. It's just that most of us have been quiet. Unlike this rabble-rouser (the fan who was making noise in the stands).

 

[Third Serve]

Wait a minute. This was a hard core FAA trying to disturb Zverev? Did not know Felix had fans.

Probably just an ABZ member

 

[Jai]

Probably just an ABZ member

I'm wondering how he ever won the tour finals in 2018. I remember after that, there was an "experts roundtable" on si.com at the beginning of the 2019 season where they were forecasting slam winners for the year. They had Zverev winning the US open. Well ...off by a year and the match result I guess, after all he was Runners up in 2020. In the worst final in years.