Melbourne, Australia) – After the loss in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, the Canadian Denis Shapovalov expressed his dissatisfaction with the treatment that the referees give to Rafael Nadal, his executioner in this Tuesday’s round in Melbourne. According to the Canadian, the Spaniard is favored by the chair judges, who don’t warn him for going over the time between points. But despite the strong claims, the 22-year-old recanted for calling Brazilian referee Carlos Bernardes ‘corrupt’ during the game.

“I was wrong when I said he was corrupt or whatever I said. It was in the heat of the moment and moving, but I think it’s unfair how Rafa gets away with it,” Shapovalov said after the 6/3, 6/4, 4/6, 3/6 and 6/3 loss. “I respect everything Rafa has done and I think he’s an amazing player. But there have to be limits and rules in place. As a player it’s very frustrating to feel like you’re not playing. only against a player, but that you are playing against the referees too.”

“I mean, I was completely ready to take his serve and the clock was ticking 3, 2, 1… to zero, and I was looking at the ref, and obviously I had to say something: I’m ready. play for a minute and a half, and he tells me that he will not send a foul to Nadal because I was not ready to play. For me, it is a big joke if someone says that ” added world number 14.

“And then, after the fourth set, he had already received two medical calls and had gone to the locker room. Last year, I was not allowed to go to the locker room because I had asked for a time out. medical. It’s tough. It was a long break after the fourth set. Set for that reason, and the game gets cold. It gets a lot harder to play. Again, I’m not trying to say anything it’s against Rafa. He’s a great player. I really respect everything he is. But I just think it’s super difficult and super frustrating to have to deal with all that,” added the Canadian, who was aiming for his second Grand Slam semi-final of his career.

Shapovalov was then asked if he thinks Nadal gets preferential treatment for who he is: “That’s clear. 100%. In all the other games I’ve played, the pace has been very fast because the referees checked the clock after each point. Today, after the first two sets, I already had an hour and a half of play, because it took a long time after each point”.

“And like I said, literally, for the same reason, I wasn’t allowed to go to the locker room last year here in Australia because I asked for medical leave. I’m not saying Rafa asked for a medical But how can you be medically assessed and take a bathroom break during the same break and cause so much delay in the game It’s just not balanced.

“You are all corrupt,” Shapovalov told referee Carlos Bernardes.

(argument related to the time Nadal took after the set break) pic.twitter.com/zY7443KoSd

— Tennis Majors (@Tennis_Majors) January 25, 2022

The Canadian also reveals the content of the conversation he had with Nadal during the match. “It was nothing against Rafa. As he was going to serve, I expected the referee to look at him, but instead the referee looked at me. It made no sense to me. The guy is looking at me, so I just looked at him as if to say ‘why are you looking at me?’ It was right after I told him that and it was wrong. I was just explaining to Rafa that it had nothing to do with him.”

“I’m happy with the way I got back to playing,” says the Canadian
Regarding the match, Shapovalov spoke about the challenge of facing a duel of five sets and lasting more than 4 hours. “We are both fighting physically, it’s a five-set match. Obviously he called the doctor to get some painkillers. But in my head I wasn’t focusing on him being okay or not physically. I also have pain and blisters. 100% for the whole tournament, so I don’t think that’s something I paid attention to.”

World number 3 executioner Alexander Zverev in the round of 16, the Canadian also assessed his own performance: “I’m happy with the way I managed to fight and get back into the game. I found my game at the end of the third and also in the fourth set. It’s good to have more time in Grand Slams to have opportunities to try and find your game. It was a good tournament for me overall. In the third, fourth and fifth sets, I felt like the better player, I had more chances. But it only took one of my bad games to decide the game.