19.09.2020
16:08
The Spanish Nacho Forcadell starred in a mistake that went viral on social networks
September 19, 2020 Share on FacebookShare Share on TwitterTweet Share on WhatsAppShare “Game for Federer”, the judge’s mistake at the Rome Masters
There were moments of tension at the beginning of the third set of the match between Serbian Novak Djokovic and German Dominik Koepfer. However, it was at that moment that the match judge became the protagonist and took all the attention by making an unexpected mistake when announcing the winner of one of the games.
The world number one had taken the first set 6-3, but his rival surprised by winning the second set 6-4. In the third set the pass to the semifinals of the Masters 1000 in Rome was played , a contest that is presented as the prelude to the Grand Slam of Roland Garros.
With the partial 1-1, Koepfer was on serve 0-40. It was at this point that the German double faulted and allowed Djokovic to win the game. The Spanish chair umpire Nacho Forcadell surprised with his announcement from the microphone. “I play, Federer,” he said. The players, focused on the match, seemed not to notice the blooper. Soon the umpire born in Barcelona noticed his mistake and corrected himself: “Djokovic,” he clarified. The images soon went viral on social media.
Novak Djokovic took the win over Dominik Koepfer (REUTERS / Clive Brunskill)
Coincidentally, Forcadell had made headlines during last year’s Shanghai Masters 1000 due to a tough cross he had with the Swiss , who was punished with the fifth of a point for throwing a ball into the stands during the quarter-final match against the German Alexander Zverev.
Federer has been out of the circuit for almost eight months now and won’t be back on the court until 2021 due to an injury to his right knee that required surgery. In any case, the close-up of the circuit has not been moved: a few weeks ago, he made public his opposition to Djokovic’s decision to create a new union of players outside the ATP.
Beyond that slip by the referee, the game continued its normal course and the number one in the world rose with the victory by 6-3, 4-6 and 6-3 . In the semifinals, he will face the Norwegian Casper Ruud (34th). In Rome, Nole is looking to return to his best form and leave behind the bad drink that meant his disqualification from the US Open for hitting a linesman with a ball. Until then, the Serbian had a record of 25 wins and no losses for the year.
