French Open - 'Disgusting!' - Reaction to Dominik Koepfer spitting on Roger Federer's side of court
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Updated 06/06/2021 at 12:02 GMT
"It was disgusting behaviour there from the German! I have to say it. He checks the mark and spits on it." The expert reaction was damning after Dominik Koepfer strode over to Roger Federer's side of the net after a decision, which ended that particular game during their French Open third-round clash, and proceeded to spit on the mark which the umpire used to show that he had lost the point.
'That's trouble!' - Koepfer spits on Federer's side of court, deducted point
Dominik Koepfer lost his cool in a big way during his third-round defeat to Roger Federer at the French Open and Eurosport's experts were disgusted by his spitting.
The German, who produced some superb tennis and took a set off the Swiss legend before losing in four, could not contain himself after a marginal call at 30-40 at a crucial point in the fourth set which enabled Federer to break serve.
Koepfer strode over to Federer's side of the net after the decision, which ended that particular game, and proceeded to spit on the mark which the umpire used to show that he had lost the point.
"Koepfer, he lost his serve and then got a point penalty, well deserved," said Eurosport's Barbara Schett.
It was disgusting behaviour there from the German! I have to say it. He checks the mark and spits on it.
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'Disgusting behaviour!' - Reaction to Koepfer spitting on Federer's side of court
Tennis legend Chris Evert added: "Well, what are you going to do? That happens, it's part of sports, you lose your temper. You don't act accordingly.
"It shows how much he wanted it, but I'm not defending him. That's certainly not a good thing to do! Nobody likes to see that, especially spectators. I don't think I've ever spat in my life!"
Simon Reed, on commentary for Eurosport at the time, had said: "Oh, he shouldn't be doing this. Yeah, not good, he got a point penalty for spitting on the mark."
Eurosport expert Miles Maclagan had added: "Oh, that's going to be trouble now! If the umpire saw it..."
Indeed, the umpire did see it and he was immediately deducted a point from the next game for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Earlier in the match, Federer would have wowed the fans, if there were any for the evening match, as he produced a round-the-net stunner to win a wild point.
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'How on earth?' - Federer with round-the-net stunner to win wild point
The Swiss superstar was taking on Dominik Koepfer in their third-round match in the late evening slot on Court Philippe Chatrier with no fans inside the stadium.
Federer would have had the spectators on their feet with the quite outrageous sliding effort to curl the shot round the net with his opponent unable to get it back in play.
It was a quite ridiculous shot from the 39-year-old eighth seed, who is aiming to win his 21st Grand Slam title with victory in Paris this fortnight.
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Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Federer have all found themselves in the same part of the men's draw in what is an intriguing prospect.
The draw looks particularly exciting for Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev with the trio not having to face any of the 'Big Three' until the final at least.
Djokovic could take on Nadal in the semi-finals in Paris in what would be a repeat from last year's final in the postponed autumnal edition.
The three most successful players in the history of the men's game have won 17 of the last 20 Grand Slam titles between them.
However, the Swiss has now spoken openly about considering pulling out of the tournament due to the stress and strain on his body from the gruelling late match.
"I mean, every match here or at Geneva I have to reassess the situation after the match and see how the knee feels the next morning," Federer said.
"So from that standpoint for me it's always like that. There is no difference after a match like this, but maybe even more so after a match like this that has been long.
"Like I explained before, I have not been through three-and-a-half-hour battles in practice either.
We go through these matches, we analyse them highly and look on what's next. We will do the same here on Sunday, because I need to decide if I keep on playing or not.
"Is it not too much risk at this moment to keep on pushing or is this just a perfect way to just take a rest?"
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Watch all the action from the 2021 French Open live on Eurosport, eurosport.co.uk and the Eurosport app with 13-time champion Rafael Nadal eyeing a remarkable 14th title and 2020 Roland Garros sensation Iga Swiatek aiming to replicate her stunning triumph.
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