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Irish Daily Mirror
02-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
BBC commentators fume at Wimbledon star for 'absolutely ridiculous' actions
BBC co-commentator John Lloyd criticized Frances Tiafoe's behavior during his second-round Wimbledon clash with Cameron Norrie, describing the American's actions as "absolutely ridiculous." Tiafoe took the first set on Court 1 on Wednesday afternoon, but Norrie, a former Wimbledon semi-finalist, rallied to win the next three. The controversy arose after the third set, when Tiafoe delayed the start of the fourth by taking an extended amount of time to gather himself. Before the fourth set could get underway, Tiafoe lingered on his side of the court, slowly collecting a towel, t-shirt, shorts, and a fresh pair of trainers from his bag. Only then did he request a toilet break from the umpire, further prolonging the pause in play. It took seven minutes for him to return with Lloyd claiming he was deliberately trying to halt Norrie's momentum. Not that it worked as the Brith would claim the fourth set to progress with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 victory. He said ahead of the fourth set: "This is ridiculous, I'm sorry but it's absolutely ridiculous. The momentum of the game. And you had the French Open final and they didn't go for one bathroom break in five hours. Not one. If I was Norrie I would go out and hit a couple of serves." Andrew Castle, who was also on commentary duty, joked about the amount of stuff that Tiafoe was taking as he joked: "It looks like he is moving in." The French umpire Damian Dumusois allowed Tiafoe to then slowly walk off the court with Castle letting rip as he claimed it was unfair on the home player. He said: "Damian Dumusois in the chair here. I'm not sure what he can do. You've got the court official waiting to lead him off and the loo is just back there. I think this is actually unfair to the person who is in front and is on the charge." Lloyd then added: "I think if you have to have a bathroom break, you get your stuff immediately. You can't just wait three minutes deciding which shirt and shorts you want to wear. This for me, I don't agree with it at all. I think this is wrong." Norrie said after his win: "I just stayed calm and played point by point. It was so nice to play Frances at such a big match. I served really well in that last game and you guys we were amazing in that last game so thank you. "It's so special. You forget so quickly. You just feel goose bumps. It's such a special court and such a special tournament. I just walked out and smiled as much as I could. And then you have to go out to battle. I'm really happy with my level today."
Daily Mirror
02-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
BBC commentators fume at Wimbledon star for 'absolutely ridiculous' antics
Cameron Norrie came from a set down to beat Frances Tiafoe at Wimbledon but it was the American's antics before the final set that rattled the BBC commentary duo BBC co-commentator John Lloyd took aim at Frances Tiafoe's antics during his second round Wimbledon with Cameron Norrie as he labelled the American "absolutely ridiculous". Tiafoe claimed the opening set on Court 1 on Wednesday afternoon before Norris, who is a former semi-finalist at SW19, fired back to win the next three sets. But it was the American's antics after the third set that caused controversy as he decided to take a moment to compose himself, but took his time in doing so. Before the fourth set could begin, Tiafoe took a prolonged period of time to collect his belongings from his side of the court before heading for a toilet break. He appeared to grab a towel, t-shirt, shorts and fresh trainers from his bag before requesting a toilet break from the umpire. It took seven minutes for him to return with Lloyd claiming he was deliberately trying to halt Norrie's momentum. Not that it worked as the Brith would claim the fourth set to progress with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 victory. He said ahead of the fourth set: "This is ridiculous, I'm sorry but it's absolutely ridiculous. The momentum of the game. And you had the French Open final and they didn't go for one bathroom break in five hours. Not one. If I was Norrie I would go out and hit a couple of serves." Andrew Castle, who was also on commentary duty, joked about the amount of stuff that Tiafoe was taking as he joked: "It looks like he is moving in." The French umpire Damian Dumusois allowed Tiafoe to then slowly walk off the court with Castle letting rip as he claimed it was unfair on the home player. He said: "Damian Dumusois in the chair here. I'm not sure what he can do. You've got the court official waiting to lead him off and the loo is just back there. I think this is actually unfair to the person who is in front and is on the charge." Lloyd then added: "I think if you have to have a bathroom break, you get your stuff immediately. You can't just wait three minutes deciding which shirt and shorts you want to wear. This for me, I don't agree with it at all. I think this is wrong." Norrie said after his win: "I just stayed calm and played point by point. It was so nice to play Frances at such a big match. I served really well in that last game and you guys we were amazing in that last game so thank you. "It's so special. You forget so quickly. You just feel goose bumps. It's such a special court and such a special tournament. I just walked out and smiled as much as I could. And then you have to go out to battle. I'm really happy with my level today."
