Nadal himself confirms he asked for Bernardes removal from his matches

pame

Hall of Fame
http://lastwordonsports.com/2015/05/26/nadal-requested-not-carlos-bernardes-umpire/

After his opening-round match at Roland Garros on Tuesday, a courageous journalist decided to actually ask Nadal about Briggs’ claims. And, shockingly enough, Nadal admitted to it. He said that he did indeed ask the ATP to have Bernardes stay away from his matches for a while. He had praise for Bernardes overall but thought that, after Rio, he should not be on the same court for a little bit.

Full article:

Less than a week ago, Simon Briggs of the Telegraph reported that Rafael Nadal had asked the ATP to avoid having Carlos Bernardes as a chair umpire for the time being. It was a strong accusation and Briggs had some choice words for the propriety of such a decision. But people always have crazy accusations against the top players.

In short, Bernardes gave Nadal several time violations in the match he umpired in Rio de Jenairo on February 22nd of this year. Time violations and Nadal have always had an uncomfortable history. The Spanish #1 has long been accused of taking far too long in between points. There is rarely a match in which he averages below the 25-second time limit, let along staying under it on every point. Opponents and fans of opponents have complained for years about Nadal’s violations going uncalled. A few umpires over the last year or two have sometimes given Nadal a warning at some point in the match. But no one has taken away a first serve for it. Well, for once, Bernardes decided to actually enforce the rulebook.

Still, this was just conjecture and conspiracy theories. Yes, Bernardes took the strongest stand anyone has so far on Nadal and time violations. And yes, Bernardes hasn’t officiated a Nadal match since then. 2+2=4, right? But it can’t be something as simple as Nadal not wanting an umpire who actually calls the match by the book, right?

After his opening-round match at Roland Garros on Tuesday, a courageous journalist decided to actually ask Nadal about Briggs’ claims. And, shockingly enough, Nadal admitted to it. He said that he did indeed ask the ATP to have Bernardes stay away from his matches for a while. He had praise for Bernardes overall but thought that, after Rio, he should not be on the same court for a little bit.

Of course, it wasn’t as simple as Nadal being upset about time violations called. That would be absurd. Rather, it’s a little weirder.

In short, if you remember a funny scene from then, Nadal came out onto the court with his shorts on backwards. Don’t ask me how that happens. But Nadal asked Bernardes if he could change his shorts on court (surrounded by towel-bearing ballkids, obviously). Bernardes acceded to the request but said that it would, by definition, be a time violation for Nadal. Which is sensible. It takes time to change the shorts and players can’t just fix their equipment like that in the middle of the match when the equipment error is their fault. (If you remember when Nadal’s shoelace broke in the 2014 Australian Open final, he was allowed to change his shoes without penalty because that was entirely out of his control; putting on your shorts backwards before getting on court is very much in the player’s control.) Bernardes got it right.

Now, Nadal was probably upset by Bernardes’ attitude. Bernardes chuckled at the situation a little. We know that umpires are supposed to be stoic. I know I wouldn’t be able to hold in my laughter if a top athlete put his shorts on backwards. That being said, I’m not a professional umpire. Part of Bernardes’ job is to stay professional when crazy things like this happen.

That deals with Nadal and Bernardes. Nadal felt disrespected by the shorts situation and was probably more than a little miffed at the time violations throughout the match. The combination of the two are almost certainly what led to Nadal’s request.

Now, though, what about the ATP granting Nadal’s request to stay away from Bernardes for a while? Everyone knows that Bernardes is one of the best umpires in the game. He sits in the chair at Masters and Grand Slams consistently. He umpires the top players. He is one of the top umpires. He was one of the few who was willing to call time violations against Nadal. And now he won’t be placed at Nadal’s matches.

The only similar situation that immediately comes to mind is Jeff Tarango. Tarango was being heckled by some fans at Wimbledon in 1995 so he told them to “shut up”. Chair umpire Bruno Rebeuh called him for a code violation for an “audible obscenity”. Tarango was so upset by this that he asked for the tournament supervisor to remove Rebeuh from the chair. When he was told that Rebeuh would complete the match, Tarango called Rebeuh “corrupt”, which elicited another code violation for “unsportsmanlike conduct”. Tarango stormed off the court and was banned from Wimbledon the following year. In the ensuing months, Rebeuh was kept away from Tarango’s matches. (In a bit of vindication for Tarango, Rebeuh was actually suspended from umpiring six months later and resigned before the suspension ended; those were the only code violations ever given to Tarango in his professional tour career.)

That is a situation where keeping a chair umpire away from a player makes sense. That’s not just bad blood. It’s bad blood to the point of the inability for either to do their job when the other is on court. This? This is just absurd. The precedent that the ATP is setting by keeping Bernardes and Nadal away from each other is an awful one. Don’t like a call an umpire made? Ask to be kept away from them. Don’t like that they called the time more strict than you like? Ask to be kept away from them.

The ATP likes keeping their top players happy. They know that superstars drive the popularity of the sport. And they know that many die-hard fans will always side with their favorites. But this is the integrity of the sport. The chair umpires keep the sport a competition. You can’t have an objective competition without a judge. And Bernardes is indisputably one of the best. Granting Nadal’s request to stay away hurts that integrity. And it sets a precedent that, if followed, will erode that integrity altogether
 

Inanimate_object

Hall of Fame
The more I think about this, I'm a bit split. When it comes down to it, this is a good move for Bernardes, as he separates himself from any conflict of interest (hopefully there is no penalty on his compensation), better for Nadal as he no longer perceives officiating in his matches to be unfair and better for the ATP as they avoid these sort of messy showdowns with officials. On the other hand it sets a dangerous precedent (or at least brings the precedent back to the forefront) that tennis players govern the rules instead of the other way around.

Really, the problem is less that Bernardes was removed from officiating Nadal matches, and more that whoever replaces Bernardes would likely not be as strict on time-violations. This is a problem with tournament rules/leniency towards time-violations and less about Nadal's abuse of power and influence.
 
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vive le beau jeu !

Talk Tennis Guru
it's really time we get rid of the bully-bull once and for all.

mad_cow_top_585-thumb-585xauto-12405.jpg
 

MonkeyBoy

Hall of Fame
If this was to too with the time violation calls then it should not have been allowed. Bernardes was working within the confines of the rules. He had full discretion to penalize Nadal. Nothing illegal about it.

Umpire should only be removed if there is some misapplication of the rules or personal conflict.
 

Bukmeikara

Legend
With the recent losses and his expected decline Nadal would far often show his "real" character. What kind of message sends this for the other umpires " Dont touch Nadal because he is above you". What would happen in the 4th round for example if Sock takes the fight to Nadal and the last one starts to serve at average 28-30 seconds?! The umpire would close his eyes.
 

merwy

G.O.A.T.
Very strange that the ATP agreed to this indeed. I must say, in favor of Nadal, that I too find it a little annoying when umpires start giggling over supposedly "funny" things happening on tour. Whenever the players are having a serious discussion with the umpire, I often see the latter replying in a laughing, degrading manner. As if he's not taking the claims of the player seriously.
 

RF-18

Talk Tennis Guru
If this was to too with the time violation calls then it should not have been allowed. Bernardes was working within the confines of the rules. He had full discretion to penalize Nadal. Nothing illegal about it.

Umpire should only be removed if there is some misapplication of the rules or personal conflict.

Good post.
 

Polaris

Hall of Fame
In before the Nadalettes drop in with a way to:
(1) Justify why this is not a big deal at all.
(2) Say that Federer/Djokovic/etc have done this too, and where was the outrage then?
(3) Blame Bernardes.
(4) Blame ATP.
(5) Blame the rules of tennis for being outdated.
(6) Blame TW for being Federer warehouse.
(7) Blame the universe for being unfair to Nadal.
 
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D.Nalby12

G.O.A.T.
Few days ago when this scandal got exposed by certain journalist, Nadal fan put question mark on the validity of his claim. It was never in doubt though. It wasn't just coincidence that Bernardes wasn't umpire for his 24 out of 24 matches after that incident.

I see pathetic attempt from Nadal to connect this with shorts incident. It has nothing to do with clash. Sole reason Nadal don't want Carlos in his matches because he's one of the few umpires who has balls to awards him violations preventing him to cheat. I think ATP must be first organisation in sport's history which has prevented umpire from doing his job to allow top player to cheat. This is not good for sport at all.

ATP's action of not allowing Bernardes and Nadal's open acceptance for being involved in that decision gives strong message to other umpires as well. Very few will dare to award him violations now. They knows consequences of that now. It means he almost given free licence to cheat from ATP.
 
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D

Deleted member 733170

Guest
Bernardes should have used some discretion about Nadal and the shorts. By all means have a good titter but don't give a time violation for it.

It still stinks however that the ATP have complied with Nadal's request.
 

Smasher08

Legend
It means he almost given free licence to cheat from ATP.

He's been cheating with impunity for years: whenever has Toni been called out for illegal coaching?

We must protect the clay, no?
We must ignore time violations, no?
We must disregard the anti-coaching rules, no?
We must respect the privacy of athletes by not testing them too much, no?

Is better for tennis, no?
 

Crionics

Semi-Pro
Very strange that the ATP agreed to this indeed. I must say, in favor of Nadal, that I too find it a little annoying when umpires start giggling over supposedly "funny" things happening on tour. Whenever the players are having a serious discussion with the umpire, I often see the latter replying in a laughing, degrading manner. As if he's not taking the claims of the player seriously.

Strange?

Not really

Think $$$$$$$$$$$
 

tenisdecente

Hall of Fame
Not very nice to see the ATP agrees to something like this. It is difficult to defend Nadal in this matter. Awful precedent for the future, really
 

THUNDERVOLLEY

G.O.A.T.
Players asking for the removal of umpires, etc. is not new to professional tennis. You would be surprised to learn how long this has existed.

...but this is TTW at the start of another major, so someone has to attack a player known for beating a notable opponent into the ground, with such a lopsided H2H.


All so expected.
 

Inanimate_object

Hall of Fame
Players asking for the removal of umpires, etc. is not new to professional tennis. You would be surprised to learn how long this has existed.

...but this is TTW at the start of another major, so someone has to attack a player known for beating a notable opponent into the ground, with such a lopsided H2H.


All so expected.

I think people are focusing on the wrong thing. As you say, players asking for specific umpires not to officiate their matches has been done before. The issue is more so that Nadal is asking for other officials with the (presumed) goal that other officials will not penalize his time-violations as Bernardes does. While both McEnroe and Connors refused certain umpires because they did not like them, but not to circumvent a rule.

It's not really so much a problem that Nadal has control over officials. If officials were uniformly clear on what rules they shall and shall not enforce, the change in officials would be trivial and Nadal would have no need to seek a different umpire.
 

hoodjem

G.O.A.T.
In before the Nadalettes drop in with a way to:
(1) Justify why this is not a big deal at all.
(2) Say that Federer/Djokovic/etc have done this too, and where was the outrage then?
(3) Blame Bernardes.
(4) Blame ATP.
(5) Blame the rules of tennis for being outdated.
(6) Blame TW for being Federer warehouse.
(7) Blame the universe for being unfair to Nadal.
Is this a big deal?

McEnroe used to do this every morning right after breakfast.
 

ivan_the_terrible

Hall of Fame
Nadal has always been a humble and honest guy.

Remember USO 2010? "I asked them (Tio et al) where to serve and they told me, so I did and I won, is good, no?"
 

ivan_the_terrible

Hall of Fame
Players asking for the removal of umpires, etc. is not new to professional tennis. You would be surprised to learn how long this has existed.

...but this is TTW at the start of another major, so someone has to attack a player known for beating a notable opponent into the ground, with such a lopsided H2H.


All so expected.

Players asking is not the issue, you have (deliberately) missed the point
 

tenisdecente

Hall of Fame
Players asking is not the issue, you have (deliberately) missed the point

It is part of the issue, but clearly not the most important one. The most important part is the ATP granting this to a top player. If Almagro, Wawrinka or Gasquet would ask for something similar, they would laugh and say "who are you guys? you cannot decide who wont judge your matches!"
 

TommyA8X

Hall of Fame
Players asking for the removal of umpires, etc. is not new to professional tennis. You would be surprised to learn how long this has existed.

...but this is TTW at the start of another major, so someone has to attack a player known for beating a notable opponent into the ground, with such a lopsided H2H.


All so expected.

As is this nonsensical response from you...
 

pame

Hall of Fame
Someone raised an interesting question: If the ATP accommodates Nadal in his asking not to be officiated by Carlos Bernardes, what would their position be if Djokovic, the #1 player, asks for Bernardes to be assigned to his QF match.

Whose accommodation takes preference?
 
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WhiskeyEE

G.O.A.T.
It's the umpire's fault for not enforcing the rules, not Nadal's fault for not following them.

Oh wait.

Thank god he's finally going to get what's coming to him.
 

jm1980

Talk Tennis Guru
Djokovic: I remember umpires I wasn't happy with but I never thought of requesting them to change. It is not fair for them

:lol:
 

Mustard

Bionic Poster
LOL. This is extremely mild stuff compared to what went on in the 1980s. Jeremy Shales run-ins with Connors, Lendl and McEnroe, anyone?
 

4-string

Professional
ATP granting this is shocking and sad.

Bernardes does the right thing when he gives Nadal penalties for wasting time, all umpires should follow his example.

However, giving a penalty for the shorts seems strange IMO, even if it's according to the rules. In that case Bernardes should have cut Nadal some slack. As much as I dislike Nadal, even I think that was unfair to him.
 

Smasher08

Legend
ATP granting this is shocking and sad.

Bernardes does the right thing when he gives Nadal penalties for wasting time, all umpires should follow his example.

However, giving a penalty for the shorts seems strange IMO, even if it's according to the rules. In that case Bernardes should have cut Nadal some slack. As much as I dislike Nadal, even I think that was unfair to him.

It's possible that Berardes might have questioned whether or not the shorts were another deliberate delay.
 

Smasher08

Legend
Someone raised an interesting question: If the ATP accommodates Nadal in his asking not to be officiated by Carlos Bernardes, what would their position be if Djokovic, the #1 player, asks for Bernardes to be assigned to his QF match.

Whose accommodation takes preference?

Indeed.

And this whole crybaby episode makes one certain incident in 2013 all the more poignant:

5656326B-CD16-46A0-AEA1-DE27214C2163_zpsdqfcdliz.jpg
 

TennisCJC

Legend
If the umpire is working the event, he should be good enough to umpire any match. No player should be able to request excluding an umpire. What's next, Rafa will give a short list of his preferred umpires? Rafa's attitude toward time code violations is insane. No, I don't think he should be allowed to take as long as he wants because he plays long grinding points. The rules and Bernie agree with me.
 

Chanwan

G.O.A.T.
Players asking for the removal of umpires, etc. is not new to professional tennis. You would be surprised to learn how long this has existed..
Care to provide 3 or more examples, where someone asked and was successful?
It is part of the issue, but clearly not the most important one. The most important part is the ATP granting this to a top player. If Almagro, Wawrinka or Gasquet would ask for something similar, they would laugh and say "who are you guys? you cannot decide who wont judge your matches!"
this and this:
If the umpire is working the event, he should be good enough to umpire any match. No player should be able to request excluding an umpire. What's next, Rafa will give a short list of his preferred umpires? Rafa's attitude toward time code violations is insane. No, I don't think he should be allowed to take as long as he wants because he plays long grinding points. The rules and Bernie agree with me.

It's wrong to ask and it's wrong from the ATP to grant the wish. Who's the next umpire to dare to not only give Rafa a time violation, but also take away a first serve? I doubt we'll see it happening any time soon despite Rafa averaging quite a bit over the limit in every single match he plays.
 
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Omega_7000

Legend
In before the Nadalettes drop in with a way to:
(1) Justify why this is not a big deal at all.
(2) Say that Federer/Djokovic/etc have done this too, and where was the outrage then?
(3) Blame Bernardes.
(4) Blame ATP.
(5) Blame the rules of tennis for being outdated.
(6) Blame TW for being Federer warehouse.
(7) Blame the universe for being unfair to Nadal.

There you go...#1 already being posted. :grin:

LOL. This is extremely mild stuff compared to what went on in the 1980s. Jeremy Shales run-ins with Connors, Lendl and McEnroe, anyone?
 

Inanimate_object

Hall of Fame
Care to provide 3 or more examples, where someone asked and was successful?
Jeremy Shales ring any bells?

It's wrong to ask and it's wrong from the ATP to grant the wish. Who's the next umpire to dare to not only give Rafa a time violation, but also take away a first serve? I doubt we'll see it happening any time soon despite Rafa averaging quite a bit over the limit in every single match he plays.

It's not wrong to ask. If a player believes he has been consistently receiving poor calls from a single official, he should have the right to ask tour officials to consider removing the umpire from his matches. The tour, in turn, is well within its rights to accept or refuse this suggestion. What's wrong is that whoever replaces Bernardes will likely not call Nadal out on the violations Bernardes has enforced in the past. This is a problem with the tour rules and officiation, not with players exceeding their sphere of influence.
 

spinovic

Hall of Fame
I think it's pretty from this that the ATP needs to ditch the 25-second clock and related time violation. They rarely enforce it and now this,so what is the point?

Which is fine by me. I can take it or leave it, but it's pointless to have a rule that doesn't get enforced and is not a priority as this obviously shows.

As for this particular story, it seems dubious, but doesn't outrage me in the least.
 
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