MTO by... the umpire!!

JustMy2Cents

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On Sunday, chair umpire Mohamed Layhani found himself at the center of another viral moment during a tennis match for one of the most bizarre reasons in recent memory: The Swedish official, and not either one of the players, was forced to take a medical timeout in the second set of the men's singles final of the Hamburg European Open.

With Alexander Zverev leading Laslo Djere by a set, Lahyani appeared to slip as he came down from his chair for a ball mark inspection early in the second set, and hobbled as he returned to his perch. With the German ahead 4-1, Lahyani summoned the trainer to court to attend to the back of his right foot, as commentators speculated he'd cut his ankle on the step ladder.

"The good news for him is that he doesn't have to go charging around the court now," the booth mused. "He can just rest up up there!"
As a rule, chair umpires are not forbidden to take their own bathroom breaks, for example, during a match. But such interruptions are rare.

You might recall that Lahyani famously officiated the record-setting three-day match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon 2010, which stretched to 70-68 in the third set. He later said he was so gripped by the "amazing match" over the three days that his focus never wavered
:oops::-D
 
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