(Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)
After Serena Williams' ghastly threats against a line judge following a foot fault call, most tennis fans thought they had seen the last of the ugly side of tennis. With both finals to come, spectators only wanted to see a great display of sport.
They were dead wrong.
The women's final saw Kim Clijsters become the first mother to win a Slam since 1980, but the whole evening was a bit too happy as a whole. All smiles from both players, not one angry or upset person in the house.
Then came the men's final and Roger Federer gunning for his sixth straight U.S. Open Championship.
But once more, one of the game's best players left a black mark on the tournament. Except this time, it was far more unexpected. Federer, who has always been gracious and honorable, lost his composure for the third time this year.
Crying like a 16-year-old who didn't get to go to the mall in Melbourne—fine. The man is a competitor and records mean the world to him. And plus, his opponent had just spent five grueling hours on court just a day before the final, but it didn't matter as Federer lost to him once again. Understandable frustration.
Slamming his racquet because he couldn't have hit the starboard side of the U.S.S. Enterprise with a forehand in a loss to Novak Djokovic in the spring—fine. Everyone has bad days now and then; it's just that Federer has far fewer bad days than most people. Once again, understandable frustration.
And now this.
After Federer went up 5-4 in the critical third set, Juan Martin del Potro had a fairly drawn-out conversation with the chair umpire about a call, and the Argentine eventually decided to use a challenge.
As soon as del Potro put up his index finger, Federer had heard enough and immediately exploded on the official, because del Potro took too long to make a decision.
And he had a legitimate point. Del Potro did take his good old time deciding whether or not to challenge.
But his fault was that he kept running his mouth as the chair tried to explain.
Everyone knows what happened next; Federer dropped a few heavy hitters, and the rest is history.
Although the always sportsmanlike Federer won the set, he eventually collapsed in the fifth set, much like he did at the Australian Open in January, and subsequently lost his first match in New York since 2003.
Four-time Laureus Sportsman of the Year or not, the fans expect more out of him. And doing his best impersonation of John McEnroe in 1984 did nothing to improve his new tag as a poor loser.
However, Federer is hardly the only one at fault for his actions.
The ATP recently issued Federer a $1,500 fine for his verbal outburst. Now before we proceed, let that gargantuan number sink in.
Fifteen hundred dollars.
If the ATP and its millionaire athletes had any double-standard to reality, that fine might be adequately compared with the following situation.
Officer: Sir, do you have any idea how fast you were going?
Driver:
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