The disqualification of Marc Polmans from the Shanghai Masters has drawn comparisons to Andy Murray’s chilly interaction with an umpire.
Polmans faced Italy’s Stefano Napolitano in a Shanghai Masters qualifying match on Tuesday but was disqualified for striking the umpire with a tennis ball.
Having failed to execute a backhand drop shot while on match point, the Australian let his frustrations get the better of him.
He whacked the rebounding ball from the net, which then smashed umpire Ben Anderson in the face.
Polmans tried to apologise but the umpire, wincing through pain, disqualified the player and handed the win to Napolitano.
It has left some fans remembering when Murray had a close encounter with an umpire that nearly led to his own disqualification.
Just a week after securing a gold medal at the Olympics in 2016, Murray was back on the court.
But this time he was at the Cincinnati Masters where he faced Milos Raonic in a repeat of his successful Wimbledon final that year.
The Scotsman proved successful yet again, winning 6-3 6-3, but he might consider himself lucky after narrowly avoiding the full wrath of the umpire.
After his Canadian opponent hit the ball towards him, Murray pulled off an incredible volley, showing off some fine footballing skills.
Seeing Marc Polmans getting defaulted today for hitting the ball at the umpire, reminded me of the time that Andy Murray kicked the ball at the umpire! 👀pic.twitter.com/3FGVAypcj0
— Pavvy G (@pavyg) October 3, 2023
However, in a moment that must have seen his heart catch in his throat, the ball sailed straight towards the umpire’s head.
It narrowly avoided him, though, skimming just a couple of inches away, though Murray was then met with a death stare that must have made his blood turn to ice.
Even though he missed the umpire narrowly, Murray could have still found himself guilty of breaking the rules.
The ATP rulebook states: “Players shall not violently, dangerously or with anger hit, kick or throw a tennis ball while on the grounds of the tournament site except in the reasonable pursuit of a point during a match.”
He could have had no complaints had the umpire decided to impose a penalty, but it appeared that the death stare was enough.
Maybe he was even slightly impressed with Murray’s footballing skills.
