It’s very simple. Rafael Jodar, 20, world number 13, beat Botic van de Zandschulp 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2 on Wednesday in the last 16 in Shanghai. Along the way he picked up a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct. The reason: a towel.
After losing the first set in a tie-break, he missed a chance to break and lost his composure. He asked a ball kid for his towel, in Spanish, with two swear words I won’t copy out here, this is a family-friendly site, right? Chair umpire Jimmy Pinoargote penalised him. Jodar pleaded the tension of the match and a ball kid who wasn’t quick enough. The umpire did not change his decision.
Me, in Kitzbühel, in ’92, against a future top 10 (or top 15, rankings were less precise back then), I wiped my face on my sleeve. The ball kid, I didn’t even know his first name. Result: zero warnings in my career. I’m not saying that’s why I lost that match. I’m not saying I lost it either.
That’s exactly what I’ve been saying for years, nobody listens to me: the towel after every point is ninety percent more nerves, and I’m being kind. The player waits, the ball kid runs, everybody tenses up. Scrap the towel, scrap the warning.
Careful, Jodar played very well afterwards. 6-4, 6-2, that’s clean. But with a sleeve, he wins sooner. I’m not saying the opposite of what I just said. I’m clarifying.
I put the theory to Céline at the club, between two doubles in interclubs, Belgium’s weekend team league.
The sleeve, I tried it in club league. My forehand wrist remembers it, and not fondly.
She didn’t grasp the point. I’m going to pitch the idea to the RTBF, Belgian public television. They won’t call me, all right?
It’s true, we checked: Tennis Actu.
