Jeff Tarango had one of the biggest meltdowns Wimbledon has ever seen – he even quit the match on the spot.
The eyes of the world are on SW19 for two weeks of the year when the best tennis players in the world compete at the only grass court Grand Slam.
Tarango exploded and called the umpire corruptYouTubeMany would argue Wimbledon is the most prestigious of all four major titles and that brings with it plenty of pressure.
Now we’ve all lost our rag on the tennis court, but perhaps not as badly as Tarango did back in 1995.
Out on Court 13 in front of a few dozen spectators, the American was playing 117th ranked German Alexander Mronz.
Things were not going Tarango’s way as he was trailing 7-6 (6), 3-1 and was serving at break point down.
He thought he had hit an ace, but the line judge quickly called the ball out. Chair umpire Bruno Rebeuh overruled the decision.
Instead of awarding the point to Tarango, he decided to replay the point. This sent the American into a meltdown.
He argued his case with the umpire and the spectators jeered at him and led him to yell out ‘shut up’.
Tarango’s outburst led to a code violation warning and only sent his fury rising.
He was heard shouting: “You are the most corrupt official in the game and you can’t do that.”
Another violation followed, this time leading to a point penalty.
Tarango ended up packing his bags and walking off court – a Wimbledon firstAFPBy this point Tarango had had enough and picked up his bags and walked out.
“No way, that’s it.” He could be heard yelling as he walked off court.
The bizarre incident saw him become the first player in Wimbledon history to default himself.
However, things turned a whole lot weirder.
His wife Benedicte gatecrashed his press conference and revealed she had slapped the umpire in the face.
Benedicte said: “I don’t think it’s bad, I think it’s good. This guy can do whatever he wants because he’s on the chair. Players have nobody to defend them in any situation.”
Tarango’s reaction seemingly suggested he was unaware his wife slapped the umpireYouTUBETarango’s facial expression hinted that he had been unaware of what had happened.
The American was fined and banned from Wimbledon for the following year.
The incident became the talk of the tournament with many top players asked for their opinions.
Seven-time singles champion Steffi Graf said: “She must have a lot of guts to do that, and she must like her husband very much.
She added: “I don’t think it’s very appropriate. I think she must be – no, I don’t want to say it – maybe a little out of her mind for a couple of minutes.”
In 2014, in an interview for Welovetennis.fr, Tarango stood by his view.
He said: “It’s a chain of suspicious decisions which, if you saw the entire match, could lead to only one conclusion: according to me, the match was fixed.”
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