'Dangerous work' - Taro Daniel almost hits umpire with wild return of Andy Murray serve at Australian Open
:focal(178x132:180x130)/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2023/04/03/3673848-74785904-310-310.jpg)
Updated 20/01/2022 at 07:36 GMT
"Cor... it's dangerous work being an umpire," said Barry Cowan, on commentary for Eurosport at the time, after Taro Daniel almost accidentally struck the umpire with a ferocious return from a big Andy Murray serve in their Australian Open second-round match. "She took it well. One of the best in the business. I'm not so sure she was watching, was she, at the start?"
'Dangerous work' - Daniel almost hits umpire with wild return of Murray serve
There was a hairy moment during Taro Daniel and Andy Murray's Australian Open second-round match as the Japanese star lashed a fierce return that almost hit the umpire.
Daniel had a break point on the Murray serve at 1-1 in the early stages of the match on the ever-boisterous John Cain Arena when the incident occurred.
As the Brit fired a big serve out wide, the qualifier just about managed to get a racquet on the ball and diverted it, at serious pace, into the oversized chair the umpire was sitting on.
Fortunately for everyone, the ball somehow zipped behind the official's head and struck the underside of the roof, which provides shade from the blazing Melbourne sun.
"Cor... it's dangerous work being an umpire," said Barry Cowan, on commentary for Eurosport at the time.
"She took it well. One of the best in the business. I'm not so sure she was watching, was she, at the start?"
Daniel did all he could in the situation by stopping, holding his hand up and making a sincere apology, and the umpire laughed it off.
Murray is eyeing the prospect of facing rising Italian star and 11th seed Jannik Sinner in the third round at Melbourne Park after he came through his opening match against Nikoloz Basilashvili in five gruelling sets.
As with his first-round match, the pumped-up crowd on John Cain Arena roared "siuu" after most points, including the opening serve from the Brit, who admitted the chant annoyed him intensely.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2022/01/20/3292413-67328533-2560-1440.jpg)
Loud 'siuu' chants follow as Murray wins opening point with big serve
In his press conference, the Brit said: “Initially, I thought it was [booing] – because there were some people booing during my practice yesterday. I have no idea what for. Yeah, so originally that's what I thought it was.
"But then yeah after a few times it was like, ‘No, they're doing that, I think it's like siuu or something that Ronaldo does when he scores'. And, yeah, it was incredibly irritating,” he added with a smile.
- - -
Stream the 2022 Australian Open live and on-demand on discovery+. A subscription for discovery+ is now £29.99 for the first year for UK users, down from £59.99
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
/images.sports.gracenote.com/images/lib/basic/geo/country/flag/large/4058.png)
/images.sports.gracenote.com/images/lib/basic/geo/country/flag/large/2241.png)