French Open - 'That's b*******!' - Alexander Zverev in furious rant at umpire over call v Stefanos Tsitsipas

ByDan Quarrell

Updated 11/06/2021 at 19:02 GMT

"I was here!" Zverev shouted, pointing to where he was standing on the court, ready to make a play on the shot from Tsitsipas. "How is that possible? How do you know that? How can you know that? How? You don't know. I hit a squash shot. You're telling me I had no chance of making that shot? You're telling me I had no chance of hitting the ball into the court? That's b*******!"

Alexander Zverev let out all his frustration in a foul-mouthed rant at the umpire after a dubious line call during his French Open semi-final clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The German, who ended up losing to the Greek star 6-3 6-3 4-6 4-6 6-3 in an epic five-set match, was absolutely livid over a decision from the umpire and line judge at a crucial point in the third set.

Holding a 5-3 lead with a break and with Tsitsipas serving, the initial line call following a deep forehand from the Greek was 'out'. The umpire leapt out of his chair and overruled, deeming that it was actually in.

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But Zverev was furious because he felt he was in position to make a play on the ball and that, in overruling, the umpire essentially gave Tsitsipas a point that was still to be contested - but for the initial call of 'out'.

It was a very contentious moment at a crucial point, and Zverev proceeded to let rip at the umpire in a furious rant at the net while also protesting to the match referee on the side of the court.

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"I was here!" Zverev shouted, pointing to where he was standing on the court, ready to make a play on the shot from Tsitsipas.

"How is that possible? How do you know that? How can you know that? You cannot tell me that call came before the shot. I hit it with the middle of my racket. It was not a frame shot.

How? You don't know. I hit a squash shot. You're telling me I had no chance of making that shot? You're telling me I had no chance of hitting the ball into the court? That's b*******!

"I hit it full power. I didn't even try to hit it back. How do you know?"

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Eurosport's Arvind Parmar explained: "This is where it is so difficult for the umpire. It's a judgement call. How do you know? Did it make a difference to the shot?

"If the call came late, then obviously not. Did it affect the shot? That is the question."

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Either way, Zverev responded superbly and gathered himself to hit a brilliant lob to win the resulting point in what was clearly a nod to the umpire after all that had preceded it.

Tsitsipas later sealed the win in five sets as he became the first Greek to make a final at a Grand Slam in the process, in what is an enormous moment for him and for Greece.

The 22-year-old has now amassed a tour-leading 39 match wins on the season, including 22 on clay courts and on Sunday he will attempt to win his first Grand Slam title. Either 13-time champion at Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal, or world number one Novak Djokovic will await him.

Tsitsipas, who was playing in his third successive Grand Slam semi-final, finally managed to go one step further as he battled past Zverev in three hours and 37 minutes to reach his maiden final in Sunday's showpiece.

Watch the moment Tsitsipas makes history in reaching final at Roland Garros

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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 Nadal eyeing a remarkable 14th title and two surprise names in the women's final in Paris.

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