In sport, one is always told to play to the whistle, however, applying that principle cost Greg Rusedski dear on the biggest stage of all.
Rusedski had finally made an inroad into his second round clash at Wimbledon in 2003 with Andy Roddick, who was known for his fearsome serve, by breaking the American in the third set having lost the previous two.
An unfortunate incident at a crucial moment in the third set contributed to Rusedski suffering a second-round exitGettyBut with Rusedski serving for the set at 5-3, a controversial moment saw the former British no.1 get broken back before he subsequently collapsed to an SW19 exit.
A shot played by Roddick teetered on the edge of the baseline and a call of ‘out’ was heard.
Rusedski returned the ball before turning his back to play believing the point was dead, however, umpire Lars Graff awarded Roddick the point after the former US Open champion played the ball back in.
A confused Rusedski questioned why he didn’t get the point after hearing the ‘out’ call, only for it to emerge that the call didn’t come from any of the line judges – but from a sitting spectator in Centre Court.
Confusion turned to rage for Rusedski as he was broken back by Roddick to take the third set score to 5-4 – and what followed was a Wimbledon meltdown for the ages.
“Why’d you f****** do that?” Rusedski barked at Graff.
“I can’t do anything if the crowd f****** calls it, can I? F****** ridiculous.
“You only replay… absolutely f****** ridiculous… that’s the freaking rule, you say, ‘Warning. Replay the point’.
“Absolutely ridiculous. Some w***** in the crowd changes the whole match.
“Some w***** changes the whole match and you allow it to happen. Well done, well done.”
Roddick had broken the record for fastest serve ever of 149mph at Queen’s just a couple of weeks earlierGetty Rusedski managed to get what could’ve been a significant break in the third set before the unfortunate moment led to him losing his serveAFPTournament referee Alan Mills later said Graff was correct to not bow to Rusedski’s replay the point demands as calls of ‘out’ from the crowd did not fall under ‘hindrance rule’ criteria.
Rusedski went on to lose the next three games as he succumbed to a 7-6 7-6 7-5 defeat to Roddick, who raced to the semi-finals before coming unstuck against eventual champion Roger Federer.
Rusedski’s Wimbledon dreams went up in smoke, but for him, the misery was only just beginning.
The tea-time rant is reported to have been watched by ‘millions’, and inevitably the BBC, who broadcasted it live, issued an apology to viewers.
Rusedski, or ‘Rude-eski’ as he was being dubbed by the tabloids, was slapped with a £1,500 fine, meaning he only took home £12,590 as a result of his efforts at the All England Club – although that was some way short of the maximum £6,000 fine that could have been imposed.
“There’s no way I should have done it and I only have myself to blame,” Rusedski said in his public apology.
Rusedski stormed off court after his defeat was confirmed feeling hard done by but a media storm was about to beginGetty“I apologise for my language. It was not necessary, I regret it and I am sorry.
“It was an emotional game and I wanted to win so badly. You are trying everything you possibly can and I was desperate to go as far as I could in these championships.
“I tried to stop myself but it’s easier said than done and Roddick took advantage. I lost it a little bit. Unfortunately, if most people lose it at work it doesn’t get shown on TV. If I do it does.”
Another apology came days later, this time from a man who claimed to be the culprit behind the infamous ‘out’ call.
Accountant Evaldas Zilionis, from nearby Kingston-upon-Thames, described it as his ‘biggest cock-up’. He also claims to have contributed to Venus Williams playing a double fault at the French Open by shouting in between serves.
“I’m so sorry. I meant for you to win, not lose. I’m a football fan and I like the crowd to get involved in the game,” Zilionis, then aged 29, said as quoted by the BBC.
Rusedski issued an apology after the match but the rant cost him £1,500Getty“I didn’t understand the rules and I thought the point would be replayed.
“If Greg calls me, I will pay his fine.”
It’s not known whether Rusedski ever took up Zilionis on his offer, but the player looks back on the episode with a different lens over 20 years on.
Rusedski revealed his sweary rant actually helped boost his profile, despite getting to the US Open final six years previously and reaching as high as fourth in the world.
“There’s always a positive with a negative in that situation,” Rusedski told talkSPORT.com during a media event at Wimbledon.
“I think I had the most f-words on Centre Court, John McEnroe was kind enough to actually tell me I should be fined over 20 grand!
“I misbehaved, I apologised and the positive that came out of it, I got my first TV advert in the country from Buxton Water because of the way that I misbehaved.
“So maybe I should have done it more often because before I was number four in the world, a US Open finalist and I couldn’t get an advertisement.
“So you know that was the positive. The negative it was a little bit of bad behaviour. But we remember bad behaviour.
“If you look at McEnroe he’s made a career of, ‘you cannot be serious’ With technology, you can’t do that anymore.”
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( ‘I lost it’ – Ex-British no.1 forced broadcaster to apologise after ‘most f-words ever’ on Centre Court )
Also on site :