In a heated final between Croatia’s Marin Cilic and Argentina’s David Nalbandian, the unthinkable happened David Nalbandian was disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct. It was something I had never seen, David Nalbandian was down 3-4 in the second set, where he reached for a stretch forehand, which he hit wide; out of frustration, David Nalbandian – intentionally or not – kicked the the advertising sign that is at the foot of the linesman’s chair. He really kicked it hard, hard enough to shatter the wooden advertisement and in turn hit the linesman who was sitting in the chair.
David Nalbandian Disqualified
Immediately after the incident, David Nalbandian was disqualified from the match, giving Marin Cilic the victory by default. With David Nalbandians’ disqualification, he had to give up the ATP points he had earned in the tournament. He also had to forfeit his prize money from the match, which could have been close to $100K if he had won. That’s a pretty penny and a reason to not have done it intentionally.
Apparently not everybody thought it was unintentional, Scotland Yard is going to open an investigation against David Nalbandian to charge the Argentine with an assault charge. Say what? Assault? Really? I understand that heat of the moment, you’re in the zone, then something goes wrong and you react. It’s human nature to lose your cool from time to time. However, I do not ever condone physical violence on anybody, especially when it comes to tennis. I don’t think that David Nalbandian assaulted the linesman at all, I do believe that he was 100% in the wrong and should not have done what he did. I’m sure the ATP will punish David Nalbandian more severely when the time comes, and I would fully expect a suspension. Though a criminal charge of assault is ludicrous.
After David Nalbandian disqualified, he did apologize to the tournament organizers and the linesman, “I am very sorry, sometimes you get frustrated on court, sometimes I make a mistake I agree with. It’s a tough moment to end a final like that but sometimes we feel so much pressure from the ATP playing so many tournaments.”
I would not be shocked if David Nalbandian were to miss 2012 Wimbledon due to a suspension. Though I would be floored if he were to miss Wimbly due to being in jail. The bottom line is that David Nalbandian was disqualified. It just so happens that the linesman was inadvertently injured due to David’s actions.
What do you think? David Nalbandian disqualified, is it worthy of a police investigation for possible assault charges? What should the ATP do in this scenario?
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