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Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo has sparked controversy by saying his French Open second-round match should not have been umpired by a woman, because the Brazilian Ana Carvalho was unable to keep home supporters in check.
Vallejo was facing the French teenager Moïse Kouamé on Thursday in what turned out to be one of the matches of the tournament so far. Kouamé, 17, was roared on by compatriots on Court Suzanne Lenglen, eventually winning 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (8) after four hours and 56 minutes.
Vallejo was unhappy with the time Kouamé was allowed to take between points and argued Carvalho, an experienced official, was not strong enough to control the crowd.
Speaking to Clay magazine, Vallejo said: “This sort of match needs to be umpired by a man, it’s very difficult for a woman to do it. It has to be refereed by a man, because it’s a very demanding crowd and you need a lot of strength to go against the crowd.”
Players are allowed to take 25 seconds between points, with a clock counting down on the scoreboard, but umpires can use discretion as to when to start the countdown if there is a lot of noise from the crowd.
“The crowd was very out of line, but I understand they are supporting their compatriot,” added Vallejo. “It’s quite an intense crowd and that’s why I was prepared. I already knew it would be like that and, to be honest, it didn’t harm me, but rather strengthened him.
“I think he took up a lot of time on many occasions, lying on the floor or stalling. And it’s not normal for the crowd to be shouting for a full minute without any play.
“In a match where the physical aspect matters so much, if you give a player a lot of time, he’s obviously going to take advantage of it.”
Tournament organisers have been contacted for comment.
