French Open tennis - 'It's reasonable' - Rafael Nadal defended by umpire with Cameron Norrie angry at delays
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Updated 05/06/2021 at 15:34 GMT
'It's a reasonable amount of time.' The umpire had to defend Rafael Nadal with Britain's Cameron Norrie not overly happy with being made to wait during their third-round match at Roland Garros. Norrie was taking on the formidable challenge of facing the 'King of Clay' at his home from home at Roland Garros on Court Suzanne Lenglen on Saturday afternoon.
'It's a reasonable time' - Umpire defends Nadal with Norrie angry at being kept waiting
Cameron Norrie was not happy with the pace of the match against the 'King of Clay' Rafael Nadal at the French Open but the umpire defended the Spaniard.
The Brit made his feeling known to the umpire during a changeover after the reigning Roland Garros champion had broken back on serve early in the second set.
Norrie felt as though Nadal was constantly making him wait - with the Spaniard not known for his swift transitions between points - and it clearly rattled him during the previous service game.
After letting the umpire know how he felt about it, he was told that actually Nadal was playing within the rules:
"It is a reasonable time," he was told by the umpire.
"Yeah but I'm still going to attack," replied Norrie before striding back on to the court.
"Well, a disagreement, certainly, between Norrie and the umpire as to the ruling regarding playing to the server's pace," explained Eurosport commentator Barry Millns.
"He was made to wait, and it just cost him his concentration at a critical moment so Nadal has broken back here."
Eurosport's Annabel Croft added: "Yeah, and it doesn't help, does it, when you've just sat down and had a big discussion with the umpire.
"You can just see that his mind is a little bit clouded by all of that and it does not help the focus. It is a distraction. I wasn't sure if she was saying he needed to slow down himself - I certainly got that impression, but I could be wrong."
As Croft earlier pointed out, not many tennis players can mix it with the 13-time champion on the red dirt of Roland Garros in Paris but Norrie provided some very punchy early moments.
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'Not many players do that to Nadal!' - Norrie wins epic 21-shot rally
Nadal, who turned 35 earlier in the week and is targeting a 14th French Open crown, is always impossibly intense, even at the start of matches. But Norrie gave as good as he got early on.
The Brit even managed to win a 21-shot rally which had fans standing on Court Suzanne Lenglen in just the second game on his own serve.
Norrie, repeatedly pushed out wide by the legendary Spaniard, managed to come out on top in what was an epic rally when trying to establish himself at 15-15 in his first service game.
"Oh, that's brilliant from the Brit!" came the roar from Millns in the Eurosport commentary box as Nadal's forehand eventually went long.
"Sticking with Nadal so well, staying up at the baseline very strongly and just chasing everything down!"
Croft added: "Well that was a brilliant rally, wasn't it! A real psychological victory, to be honest.
Not many players can go for a long, drawn out rally like that - 21 shots - do that and come out on top against Nadal on a clay court!
It is a huge day for the 25-year-old, who is the last Brit standing in the singles at this year's French Open.
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Nadal and Britain's Norrie walk out for French Open clash
Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger 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.
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'That is so clever!' - Nadal with genius drop shot against Norrie
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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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