Canadian tennis player Denis Shapovalov openly criticized Rafael Nadal following his quarterfinal loss at the Australian Open on Monday, saying the World No. 6 is “100%” given preferential treatment after calling the umpires during the match “corrupt.”
Nadal advanced to the semifinals after a grueling five-set victory over Shapovalov, but during the match, Shapovalov blasted chair umpire Carlos Bernardes over what he believed were time violations by Nadal.
“You started the clock so long ago and [Nadal is] still not ready to play,” he said, approaching Bernardes after dropping 3-6 in the first set. “You’ve got to code him.”
As he was preparing to serve, Bernardes appeared to hold the game, to which Shapovalov said, “[Nadal is] is not ready to play.”
The umpire responded, suggesting Shapovalov was not ready to play after approaching him. Shapovalov fired back: “Are you kidding me? You guys are all corrupt.”
