Rafael Jodar’s latest win at the Shanghai Masters has been overshadowed by an incident in the second set that led to a code violation.
Jodar moved into the quarter-finals with a 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2 win over Botic van de Zandschulp. He is only the second player to reach the last eight in Shanghai before their 21st birthday, after Jakub Mensik. Overall, it is the fourth time this year the Spaniard has reached the last eight of a Masters 1000 event. An achievement that has only been matched or beaten by Arthur Fils, Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev.
At the start of the second set, Jodar was heard shouting to the ball kid in Spanish, ‘Dame la puta toalla, coño!’ which translates to ‘Give me the bloody towel, for fuck’s sake!’ The remarks were picked up by the Spanish-speaking umpire Jimmy Pinoargote, who swiftly issued a warning to the tennis star before an argument between the two started.
“He’s not listening to me, mate, I’m talking to him… And I haven’t said anything wrong. Good grief!” Newspaper El Pais quoted Jodar as saying.
“Rafa, ask me to sort it out and I’ll ask him, but not like that,” Pinoargote responded.
“That’s not how we talk to them [the ball boys]…” He later added.
“We’ve been playing for over an hour, mate. He’s just a bit off, I say something to him and…” Jodar then said of the ball boy.
“I understand you perfectly, but not like that.” Pinoargote then told him.
The 20-year-old will likely receive a fine for his conduct, according to the ATP Tour rulebook.
Jodar answered four questions (in English) during his press conference in the tournament’s mixed zone, but none of them was about the incident. Instead, he spoke about having to battle back from a set down to win for the third match in a row.
“I’m very proud of my fight and the spirit of fighting always, and super happy to be in the quarterfinals here for the first time in Shanghai,” he said.
Jodar will play Casper Ruud in the next round.
