"Disappointing really" - Dan Evans furious with umpires, ATP Tour after being made to wait in the freezing cold during French Open loss to Holger Rune

Dan Evans recently expressed disappointment with chair umpires following his loss to 13th-seeded Holger Rune in the first round of the 2024 French Open. The Brit also had a run-in with veteran umpire Mohammed Lahyani at the recently concluded Italian Open.

Evans suffered a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 rout to Rune in Paris earlier on Tuesday (May 29). The scoreline would suggest that the 34-year-old was thoroughly outplayed by his younger opponent. However, he did lead the Dane 4-2 in the third set, before some deliberation surrounding a call that went against the 13th seed ruined his momentum.

Dan Evans would end up waiting for several minutes in cold conditions as Holger Rune argued with the chair umpire Jaume Campistol. The World No. 62 was then broken twice on his serve, ultimately surrendering the match in straight sets.

The Brit was not happy with how the final set of his French Open campaign transpired if his comments to the English tabloid iNews are anything to go by. He expressed his displeasure with umpires employed in tennis, narrating how his rhythm was affected partly due to Campistol.

"I’m fed up with the umpires, flat full stop," Dan Evans told inews.co.uk after his French Open exit. "I’m waiting to serve. It’s freezing on the court. The match was flowing great and then just stopped in the middle. That’s not the reason I lost and that’s just part of the issue, part of the problem, but he’ll be back in work again tomorrow."

The Brit also alluded to a separate incident with another umpire, Mohammed Lahyani, while talking about the lack of accountability from both umpires and the ATP tour. To prove his point, he illustrated a comparison with sports like rugby and squash in terms of the umpires' conduct.

"In rugby they get 10 metres or whatever, squash you’re not allowed, it’s no talking. We just sit there and have a conversation. We’ve seen many cases of it. I actually got fined in Rome for my language," he added. "I made a point of looking at my prize money receipt and I was fined. That’s the tour for you, isn’t it? The powers that be don’t have to answer the questions, it’s the players. It’s disappointing, really."

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"They are humans and I think some of them forget that" - Dan Evans on umpiring row at French Open 2024

Dan Evans exited the 2024 French Open in the first round

While Dan Evans was miffed at the chair umpire from his first-round match at the 2024 French Open, he did concede that making correct calls on claycourts can be tough, since the ball marks are not easy to identify.

"On the whole, the umpiring is good," Dan Evans said. "The clay is a difficult surface. But definitely having a conversation on somebody else’s serve, you don’t see it in any other sport."

Having said that, he also stated that umpires are not beyond making mistakes.

"You have to be a strong character to come down [from the chair and make a decision] but remember they do pretty much exactly the same as we do when we all wake up in the morning," he added. "They are humans and I think some of them forget that."