Did Millman break the rules against Federer?
After the highly classic third round match between Roger Federer and John Millman, which the Swiss won in a crazy match tie break after a 4: 8 deficit with 6 points in a row 10: 8, the former Dutch professional Sven Groeneveld brings a controversy into play. On his Twitter account, he accuses Millman of using a cheap trick to intensify his premium.
by Felix Lang
last edit: Jan 25, 2020, 07:57 pm
What is the Australian supposed to have done?
The Dutchman claimed that Millman rolled the ball on his wet shirt to increase the speed of his serve.
He wrote on his Twitter account:
" Millman uses the old trick to speed up the first serve by rolling the ball on his (I guess) wet shirt before the serve. Is it legal in tennis? I know it's not other ball sports like cricket and baseball. ”
# # IMG2
Here is his tweet with a video of the action:
Groeneveld has a wealth of experience
Groeneveld was most recently the coach of the Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova . The Dutchman has a wealth of experience and has worked with Caroline Wozniacki and Tommy Haas , among others. One can pay attention to his words in this matter.
It is currently too early to get a clear picture. However, video footage shows that Millman repeated the action several times during the game.
Potential rule violation according to ITF rules
In this context, the rules prohibit any action on the tennis ball that changes its condition and even specifically names the rubbing off of sweat.