Frenchman Jeremy Chardy launched a furious attack on chair umpire Miriam Bley during his second-round match with Britain’s Dan Evans, accusing her of lying and making “the biggest mistake of the Australian Open”.
The inciting incident came at a crucial moment of the match, with former quarter-finalist Chardy defending break point at 3-3 in the opening set.
As Chardy hit a forehand during a rally, one of the balls he was storing in his pocket fell out; he did not stop moving, nor look at the ball.
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Evans returned the shot and Chardy then hit it into the net to lose the point – but immediately after the ball found the net, the umpire called out “let”, which would mean to play the point again.
Yet the point was awarded to…
