The 2003 US Open semi "controversy"

A

Arafel

Professional
So, in reading around these boards a lot, I often will see someone post about how David Nalbandian was robbed in the 2003 US Open semi by a bad call and would surely have beaten Andy Roddick in that match if not for a bad call that handed the match to Roddick. I stopped following tennis for a while when Connors retired, and didn't start playing again till 2004. The first match I saw was the 2004 Wimbledon final, and I've liked Roddick ever since.

Point being, I hadn't seen the 2003 US Open. So, after reading all these posts about how Nalby was robbed, I decided to Google it, read a little about the supposed bad call, then watched the third set tiebreak on You Tube.

Anybody who thinks Nalby was robbed is drinking serious Kool Aid. Admittedly, the fan screaming out may have been distracting, but frankly, they did that after the bounce and before Roddick hit it back. If that call should have affected anyone, it was Andy, but he kept playing. Nalby was the one who let it get to him.

I used to see that happen a lot in the 80s in matches with Borg, Connors, Lendl and McEnroe at the US Open, and they knew enough to keep playing.

Furthermore, Nalby didn't lose the tiebreak on that one point. The man was up 3-0 and 4-2 in that tiebreaker and played a couple of careless points that let Roddick get back in it. With his confidence bolstered, Roddick started firing aces and service winners. By the match point, it was clear Roddick was the aggressor and more in control. I think that is further proved because Roddick won the fourth set 6-1.

Bottom line, Nalbandian wasn't robbed; he blew it, just like he blew the French in 2004 and has blown countless other Slam matches. The guy has talent, but he isn't a champion.
 
Ima big Nalby fan but the truth is he had plenty of chances to win that match, could that call have change the outcome? its possible, but regardless he was not robbed.
 
Arafel said:
Anybody who thinks Nalby was robbed is drinking serious Kool Aid. Admittedly, the fan screaming out may have been distracting, but frankly, they did that after the bounce and before Roddick hit it back. If that call should have affected anyone, it was Andy, but he kept playing. Nalby was the one who let it get to him.
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This. How the hell people manage to spin this against Roddick is beyond me, b/c if anyone should have been distracted, it was him. Nalbandian really had no excuse.
 
Arafel said:
Bottom line, Nalbandian wasn't robbed; he blew it, just like he blew the French in 2004 and has blown countless other Slam matches. The guy has talent, but he isn't a champion.
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Wholeheartedly agree. I think Djokovic may be the same way.
 
i just watched it too coz of this thread and yea... u cant say that one call that wasnt even official while roddick was returning stole the 03 title...
 
A lot of people here need to come to this thread, read and absorb.

I'm not even a fan of Roddick but why isn't the overrule at 4-4 in the 5th set of the 2001 US Open QF ever mentioned??? Hhhhhhhmmmmmmm...........
 
No, Roddick didn't win that match fair and square. See the whole match rather than 1 set, and you'll find out that throughout the match the linesmen were playing together with Roddick, and the umpire was blind and deaf. Just another case when Americans wanted a win and bought it illegitimately. BTW I'm not Argentinian. Simply for me it is one of the two most disgraceful and dishonest matches in the current history of tennis.
 
Gen said:
No, Roddick didn't win that match fair and square. See the whole match rather than 1 set, and you'll find out that throughout the match the linesmen were playing together with Roddick, and the umpire was blind and deaf. Just another case when Americans wanted a win and bought it illegitimately. BTW I'm not Argentinian. Simply for me it is one of the two most disgraceful and dishonest matches in the current history of tennis.
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being argentinian shouldnt have anything to do with it.... but i didnt watch the match but did nalbandian not complain at all with all the bad line calls then? im sure in a 5 set match he woulda complained the hell out of umpire if sooo many bad line calls were made against him on purpose because its the uso..
 
The best decision would have been in that tiebreak when that crazy guy yelled the ball out to stop the point and replay it.The third set was key for the match and Nalbandian lost not only the set but also the whole momentum with it.
 
Gen said:
No, Roddick didn't win that match fair and square. See the whole match rather than 1 set, and you'll find out that throughout the match the linesmen were playing together with Roddick, and the umpire was blind and deaf. Just another case when Americans wanted a win and bought it illegitimately. BTW I'm not Argentinian. Simply for me it is one of the two most disgraceful and dishonest matches in the current history of tennis.
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Stop it. Nalbandian was up 2 sets, even had a match point with all that "cheating". He had his chances but didn't capitalize. Even the OP stated that scream should have effected Roddick more than Nalbandian.
 
iriraz said:
The best decision would have been in that tiebreak when that crazy guy yelled the ball out to stop the point and replay it.The third set was key for the match and Nalbandian lost not only the set but also the whole momentum with it.
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Can't replay the point for spectator noises.
 
Gen said:
No, Roddick didn't win that match fair and square. See the whole match rather than 1 set, and you'll find out that throughout the match the linesmen were playing together with Roddick, and the umpire was blind and deaf. Just another case when Americans wanted a win and bought it illegitimately. BTW I'm not Argentinian. Simply for me it is one of the two most disgraceful and dishonest matches in the current history of tennis.
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bought a win??? are you serious. thats some harsh accusations. this isnt boxing or college sports my friend.
 
Also a big Nalbandian fan. THE MAN WAS ROBBED!!! Only joking. Roddick deserved that win. If you can't finish, then you don't deserve the win. As we saw in IW, Nalbandian has an issue with finishing.
 
woodrow1029 said:
Can't replay the point for spectator noises.
Click to expand...

i think as represented by this match and the WS at IW. spectators who make loud noises on purpose should be handled more harshly to detour others from thinking its ok.

im not sure what CAN be done but something needs to be done to these "fans", who obviously arent fans of the sport.


that being said, heckling a player you dislike on practice courts is perfectly ok.

*innocent whistle*
 
Disagree with OP and agree with Gen. It was blatant daylight robbery. Roddick should be ashamed of this win. He never deserved a slam title.
 
Last edited:
gj011 said:
Disagree with OP and agree with Gen. It was blatant daylight robbery. Roddick should be ashamed of this win. He never deserved a slam title.
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im gonna go out on a limb and guess that you,, gulp, dont like andy roddick? i know its a long shot guess but..
 
gj011 said:
Disagree with OP and agree with Gen. It was blatant daylight robbery. Roddick should be ashamed of this win. He never deserved a slam title.
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Why? I'm honestly curious about your reasoning here, b/c part of me wonders whether you have solid logic (as in some of your posts defending Djokovic), or if this is just another crack against Andy made on principle because you think he's a classless jerk.
 
It was in Nalbandian's hands, if he would handled that moment better, he probably would've won the match right in that set. He's a much better player than Roddick, and he was playing pretty well that day. He just became distracted from the task at hand.

I think people spin this as "stolen" because most people have more respect for Nalbandian than for Roddick. Granted, neither are exemplary people, but at least Nalbandian is not as, well, an *******.(sorry tried to find a more civil word but i'm running out of time). Yeah, Nalbandian can be in your face sometimes but it's more cultural than anything. To some people he might seem like he's overreacting but that's just his calm reaction, he's not trying to intimidate or harrass, if he really was, you'd know.
 
so wat if nalbandian was robbed

wimbledon 2004 - roddick was robbed (rain)
US open 2002 - idiotic call against hewitt

things happen get over it
 
I think it would have needed to far more blatant to constitute him being robbed of the match. That being said, some points maybe of higher significance but every point counts.
 
Have Hewitt hand back his 2001 US Open trophy than to Roddick there was robbery also stop hating Roddick so much and get over the fact that he won a slam.
 
Arafel said:
Bottom line, Nalbandian wasn't robbed; he blew it, just like he blew the French in 2004 and has blown countless other Slam matches. The guy has talent, but he isn't a champion.
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Beasty54 said:
Wholeheartedly agree. I think Djokovic may be the same way.
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That's a little harsh. Djokovic stepped up and won the Aussie Open, has won several Masters Series titles and has kept himself in the top 3 for a while. Ok, he might not be a Federer or Nadal kind of champion but he is definitely on a higher level in terms of mentality than Nalbandian. Djokovic has hit a rough patch lately, and even so, he still manages to win the vast majority of the matches that he SHOULD win... something that certainly can't be said of Nalbandian's career so far.

Nalbandian: 27 years old, 10 titles from 20 finals. 2 Masters Series and a Tennis Masters Cup.

Djokovic: 21 years old, 12 titles from 18 finals. 4 Masters Series, Tennis Masters Cup and Aussie Open.

I'm not a fanboy or a hater, these are just facts.
 
The audience-member shout thing is a ridiculous excuse. Some people go farther and claim that there was a systematic bias in Roddick's favor that gave him unfair line calls at crucial moments. I believe this, too, is highly exaggerated; there were instances where the ball was very close to the line and Nalbandian disagreed with the call, but we're not talking Williams-Capriati, here.
 
I'm with Arafel.

I think a lot of the "controversy" is rooted in how so many fans thought that was "Nalby's year." They allowed their hope and fanaticism to overcome their reason.

Roddick won. Deal with it.

- KK
 
Like I said in another post, even if Nalby somehow wins that match.... it doesnt mean Roddick would be a 0 time slam winner. Nalby could gain momentum, take out Fed at the AO, and then JCF would win. Then Roddick stays no 1 and JCF is no 2. Then maybe Roddick wins Wimby 04, and maybe doesnt develop his paranoia with beating Fed in 04 - 05. Then maybe he losses less to the Mullers and Johansens.

Either way the anti-Roddick argument is weak. Especially when people say Roddick is lucky to have won the USO. I mean he only won the 2 Masters before that
 
tangerine said:
Roddick/Nalbandian semi is on ESPN Classic right now. It pretty much proves the OP right on every point. :)
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Agreed. Just watched it on YouTube for the first time since it happened. If anything, the shouting should've screwed up Roddick, but it didn't. Instead, it screwed up Nalbandian. It was equal-opportunity screwage, but Roddick didn't blink. There's no way anyone can (a) blame Roddick for this, or (b) use it as an example of why Roddick's Slam title supposedly is not legitimate.
 
roddickfan90 said:
so wat if nalbandian was robbed

wimbledon 2004 - roddick was robbed (rain)
US open 2002 - idiotic call against hewitt

things happen get over it
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Huh? It rained on Federer too !!

Feds and Rods have played 3 wimby finals and Feds has won each time, he's just better, get over it!
 
This is one of the most ridiculous complaints ever.

Nalbandian was up a minibreak in the tiebreak and gave it back with his own unforced errors. I've also seen players play through yelling plenty of times in the pros.

I just don't get him sometimes. Why did he lose in straights to Gaudio in 04? Why, in the 03 AO, after playing a great match to beat Fed, did he go out to Schuttler in the next round? He had a great chance to get to the final that year if he had won that match, since he would have been facing a Roddick who was tired from his epic against El Ayanoui.
 
I'm not really with the OP. The reason Andy was not screwed was because he was already prepared and committed to hit the ball, and thats what he did regardless of the call. Also, the linesperson calling that line would be directly behind him so he is in better position to hear if the call came from the crowd or not.

For Nalbandian, if the call was made by a fan around where the line person is, it would be harder for him to tell the difference between a fan calling and the linesperson. still, even if he had a little doubt in his mind he should have kept playing. but perhaps he was quite certain that the call was legit.

In all, I think Nalabandian was kind of screwed out of that set and that point. The rest of the match is completely his fault and something he has to live with.

The guy who said that should have been kicked out immediately. I understand that while you watch live tennis you get the urge to call out sometimes when you think the ball is going out. I have said it out loud during matches too accidently. But there is no fricken need to yell it, that just makes no sense to me whatsoever, and there should be no tolerance for that. Send the guy home and let him watch the match on TV while he thinks about how stupid he was in that moment.
 
TheFifthSet said:
This was back when Murray was thought to have the brighter future of the two. Not too illogical given Djokovic's game at the time, plateauing and all, but funny how that turned out. I once compared his early to career to Agassi's and was laughed out of the thread. Oh, how I spent my teenage years. :D
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I think robbed is a bit harsh......nalbandian had bad luck with that....but i do think the point should have been replayed.

the logic " you never stop playing" by macenroe at the time makes no logic.

if you carry that logic to it's complete extent...players wouldn't stop finishing a point and would need the umpire and crowd holloring to get them to stop it.

For tennis to work...there needs to be some silence so that players can trust the call.

Players have to trust a call like that...and you have to admit watching the video...from a long way away..like 30-40 metres it sounded very similar to a linespersons call.

and it was clear nalbandian thought the point had stopped until he finished the stroke...then suddently realised.


anyway....it's not a big deal....the real reason some posters think roddick was lucky to win that slam:

nalbandian conveniently takes out federer and poo for roddick...both were in great form..(see fed vs blake, insane match)
ferrero takes out hewitt and agassi and is then dog tired in the final.
safin and haas both injured...both would have been trouble for roddick.

but for all that...roddick won it..and good on him...he was a good player on tour for a decade or so...and would seem unfair to not be a slam winner
when players like gaudio and johansson won slams.
 
TheFifthSet said:
This was back when Murray was thought to have the brighter future of the two. Not too illogical given Djokovic's game at the time, plateauing and all, but funny how that turned out. I once compared his early to career to Agassi's and was laughed out of the thread. Oh, how I spent my teenage years. :D
Click to expand...

True, but Djoker still won a slam before Murray. He only had one slam and he didn't win another until 2011, but still. You just have to laugh given how it actually turned out.
 
obsessedtennisfandisorder said:
I think robbed is a bit harsh......nalbandian had bad luck with that....but i do think the point should have been replayed.

the logic " you never stop playing" by macenroe at the time makes no logic.

if you carry that logic to it's complete extent...players wouldn't stop finishing a point and would need the umpire and crowd holloring to get them to stop it.

For tennis to work...there needs to be some silence so that players can trust the call.

Players have to trust a call like that...and you have to admit watching the video...from a long way away..like 30-40 metres it sounded very similar to a linespersons call.

and it was clear nalbandian thought the point had stopped until he finished the stroke...then suddently realised.


anyway....it's not a big deal....the real reason some posters think roddick was lucky to win that slam:

nalbandian conveniently takes out federer and poo for roddick...both were in great form..(see fed vs blake, insane match)
ferrero takes out hewitt and agassi and is then dog tired in the final.
safin and haas both injured...both would have been trouble for roddick.

but for all that...roddick won it..and good on him...he was a good player on tour for a decade or so...and would seem unfair to not be a slam winner
when players like gaudio and johansson won slams.
Click to expand...


Ok but idk what that has to do what you quoted, my friend :p :)
 
I would have thought it would be fairly obvious.

We take for granted players aren't cynical about calls similar to a linescall from the crowd.

If they were ...points would never stop..would they? if they were cynical about it ..points would only stop
if it obviously went out or obviously bounced twice.

Most tennis crowds don't try to impersonate a linesman...but , to make my point clear and extreme example, lets assume you have a bunch of the crowd
in the first row just behind the players either end that, in each point, called out "in" or "out" on each close call around the baseline...just like the real linespeople do.
it would be choatic...particularly for the opponent 30-40 metres away for the opponent on the other side of the net who
can't tell whether that was a "real" call or not...see how ridiculous it gets just .

As I stated before, watch the video again and the dude in the crowd calls out..very similar to just how a linesperson does...and ..for that second or so

nalbandian thought that was the "real" linesperson , as he has been trained to trust that sound after 5 or 6 years on tour...after all ..give nalbandian
some break here..he's 40 to 60 metres away man....

roddick slices the ball back to him..and ..thinking the "real" call has been made..hits a "throwaway" forehand into the net..only to his horror realize it was the crowd.


I just want to reiterate i'm not a huge nalbandian fan and i'm all good with roddick winning the slam..i just think had the shoe been on the other foot roddick would have gone balastic ala 2001 ordering the umpire to replay the point and doubted the qualoity of the umpires genetic makeup etc...
 
obsessedtennisfandisorder said:
I think robbed is a bit harsh......nalbandian had bad luck with that....but i do think the point should have been replayed.

the logic " you never stop playing" by macenroe at the time makes no logic.

if you carry that logic to it's complete extent...players wouldn't stop finishing a point and would need the umpire and crowd holloring to get them to stop it.

For tennis to work...there needs to be some silence so that players can trust the call.

Players have to trust a call like that...and you have to admit watching the video...from a long way away..like 30-40 metres it sounded very similar to a linespersons call.

and it was clear nalbandian thought the point had stopped until he finished the stroke...then suddently realised.


anyway....it's not a big deal....the real reason some posters think roddick was lucky to win that slam:

nalbandian conveniently takes out federer and poo for roddick...both were in great form..(see fed vs blake, insane match)
ferrero takes out hewitt and agassi and is then dog tired in the final.
safin and haas both injured...both would have been trouble for roddick.

but for all that...roddick won it..and good on him...he was a good player on tour for a decade or so...and would seem unfair to not be a slam winner
when players like gaudio and johansson won slams.
Click to expand...

Why replay the point when the rule book specifically says that the point isn't replayed for spectator noise?
 
Arafel said:
So, in reading around these boards a lot, I often will see someone post about how David Nalbandian was robbed in the 2003 US Open semi by a bad call and would surely have beaten Andy Roddick in that match if not for a bad call that handed the match to Roddick. I stopped following tennis for a while when Connors retired, and didn't start playing again till 2004. The first match I saw was the 2004 Wimbledon final, and I've liked Roddick ever since.

Point being, I hadn't seen the 2003 US Open. So, after reading all these posts about how Nalby was robbed, I decided to Google it, read a little about the supposed bad call, then watched the third set tiebreak on You Tube.

Anybody who thinks Nalby was robbed is drinking serious Kool Aid. Admittedly, the fan screaming out may have been distracting, but frankly, they did that after the bounce and before Roddick hit it back. If that call should have affected anyone, it was Andy, but he kept playing. Nalby was the one who let it get to him.

I used to see that happen a lot in the 80s in matches with Borg, Connors, Lendl and McEnroe at the US Open, and they knew enough to keep playing.

Furthermore, Nalby didn't lose the tiebreak on that one point. The man was up 3-0 and 4-2 in that tiebreaker and played a couple of careless points that let Roddick get back in it. With his confidence bolstered, Roddick started firing aces and service winners. By the match point, it was clear Roddick was the aggressor and more in control. I think that is further proved because Roddick won the fourth set 6-1.

Bottom line, Nalbandian wasn't robbed; he blew it, just like he blew the French in 2004 and has blown countless other Slam matches. The guy has talent, but he isn't a champion.
Click to expand...

He was not robbed. Nalbandian simply tore his abs in that match and that's why he lost it. He missed at least a month after that match. He had it in control. It happens.
 
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