Tennis fans are empathizing with Mikael Ymer over the reason for his impassioned outburst during his ATP Lyon Open match against Arthur Fils that ended in a disqualification.
Ymer took on home favorite Fils in the second round of the ATP Lyon Open on Wednesday, May 24.
The duo were involved in a neck-and-neck battle in the opener with the score at 5-5 when things started shifting in Fils’ favor. As Ymer served at 30-30 in the 11th game of the first set, he encountered a bad bounce from his opponent’s side – a shot that the Swede claimed had bounced long but was not called.
Mikael Ymer challenged the call after heading towards the mark, but the chair umpire refused to have a look at it, as he opined it was a late challenge. This led to a heated argument between the 24-year-old and the chair umpire. As it happened, Ymer was eventually broken by Fils in the same game.
The infuriated Swede proceeded toward the chair umpire and damaged his chair by striking it multiple times with his racquet, which was crushed as well. Mikael Ymer was instantly defaulted following his outburst at 6-5.
Tennis fans have condemned the violent nature of the World No. 53’s outburst, but have expressed empathy at the same time, and blasted the chair umpire for refusing to check the line call.
“Unfortunate way to end a match, but I do think that Mikael Ymer regrets losing his cool in that manner. That being said, it's baffling how chair umpires keep making pathetic calls and continue to get away with doing so,” one fan said.
Tennis analyst Gill Gross defended Ymer’s late call by stating that, despite it being against the rules, umpires comply with other players in similar situations ‘all the time.’
“Strong strong disagree. He hit the shot on the rise and then stopped playing. Did he stop playing because he shanked his ball out? Very likely, but doesn’t matter. Players do exactly what Mikael did and get the mark checked allll the time,” he said.
Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans:
Arthur Fils to face top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime after Mikael Ymer match at 2023 Lyon Open
Arthur Fils has been on the rise on the tennis circuit of late. The 18-year-old, who is currently ranked World No. 112, reached a career-high ranking of World No. 104 in February -- owing to his Challenger-level success, as well as a semifinal appearance at the ATP 250 in Montpellier.
The Frenchman is now through to the quarterfinals of the Lyon Open. He has set up a clash with World No. 10 and tournament top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Auger-Aliassime reached the final eight with a victory over Pablo Llamas Ruiz.