Andy Roddick was left fuming after a controversial umpiring decision saw him docked a point on the way to a first round defeat to Philipp Kohlschreiber last night.
Roddick had led by a set and a break before Kohlschreiber hit back strongly to win 6-7, 7-5, 6-1.
However the decisive moment occurred early in the deciding set when Roddick was docked a point for slamming a ball into the stands, handing Kohlschreiber a crucial break to go 2-0 up.
It was Roddick’s second warning after an earlier offence for smashing his racket but the American was furious at the umpire for choosing to enforce the point penalty at such a crucial point in the match.
"Obviously it's a split second thing, as soon as I did it I wanted it back," he said. "It was a judgment call for the umpire. I am pretty sure I saw an eight-year-old girl catch it on the way down. He was telling me I hit it as hard as I could.”
"It just sucks. I can't blame him, but I'm sitting here turning a six-week injury into a three-week injury, rehabbing eight hours a day, and a split second decision he interjects himself and it's done. I understand where the umpire is coming from but at a certain point, you know, you hit a tennis ball into a stadium, someone goes home with a souvenir, and it pretty much ruins the match from there. Seems counterproductive.”
