Damir Dzumhur unleashed a furious rant at the umpire and British wild card Arthur Fery during their Wimbledon first-round match on Court 16, claiming a missed let call. The Bosnian, who was a set and a break up at the time, ended up losing in four sets after the controversy appeared to derail his focus.
Dzumhur's Outburst
With Fery serving at 1-2 in the second set, Dzumhur stopped play, insisting he heard a let. He turned to the umpire and said, 'It was a let.' As Fery approached the net, Dzumhur directed his frustration at the official, telling Fery, 'You played the point, you didn’t stop. No, no, no. You won the point, let’s be honest. I don’t care what he’s saying. Can you be honest and say you didn’t stop?'
Fery twice confirmed he didn’t stop, saying, 'I didn’t hear the let.' Dzumhur then asked, 'Look in my eyes and say this, you didn’t stop?' When Fery held his ground, Dzumhur turned back to the umpire, asking, 'Did you see the let?' The umpire said no. Dzumhur then asked, 'Did you hear it?' Again, the answer was no. Dzumhur retorted, 'So you are that bad that you didn’t hear and everybody heard? You are that bad? You made the mistake. And he [Fery] stopped.'
Match Impact
Before hitting his next serve, Dzumhur told Fery, 'Fair play man, as always.' However, the incident seemed to rattle him. Fery broke Dzumhur immediately after the drama to level the second set at 2-2, then won the next four games in a row. The Brit dominated the third set 6-2 and breezed through the fourth 6-1, securing a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 victory.
Fery became the first British man to reach the second round and just the second British singles player overall, after Katie Swan beat Irina-Camelia Begu 6-4, 6-4 earlier.
