‘You’re all corrupt!’ – Denis Shapovalov accuses umpire in Rafael Nadal altercation

Denis Shapovalov believed that the chair umpire gave Rafael Nadal too much leniency between points during their intense Australian open quarter-final battle. 

20-time Slam champion Nadal is infamous for his nonchalant demeanour between points, often pushing close to or beyond zero on the serve clock both when serving and returning.

After the Spaniard went a set up and with Shapovalov to serve, the Canadian raised the issue with the chair umpire, urging him to dole out a code violation.

“Look at the clock, it [went to zero] so long ago and he’s still not ready to play,” Shapovalov said approaching the umpire.

“You’ve got to code him,” he pleaded.

After further interaction, Shapovalov then retorted “you guys are all corrupt, you guys are all corrupt!” Before returning to the baseline to serve.

 

 

In the very next game, Shapovalov still had a problem with how long Nadal was taking with his own serve.

The two men then met at the net in an attempt to resolve the situation.

 

 

The issue appeared to fade later into the match, with the pair going on to play out a five-set four-hour epic as Nadal held off a strong Shapovalov comeback to win. 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3.

Nadal surprised himself with the win and with his Australian Open run overall.

The events of this year’s tournament provide a stark contrast to the dire position the Spaniard found himself in just months ago.

He now progresses to a seventh career Australian Open semi-final and 36th Slam semi-final in his career overall.

He faces either fellow veteran Gael Monfils or 2021 Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini there.

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