Caroline Wozniacki to chair umpire: ‘Have you been to school?’ (VIDEO)
The one, and perhaps only, universal compliment that Caroline Wozniacki receives on her tennis game relates to her tenaciousness and fight. She proved as much in Saturday's three-set loss to Kaia Kanepi. The former world No. 1 won the second set after going down 1-5 and staged a brief comeback from the same score in the third, before Kanepi prevailed 6-1, 6-7 (3), 6-3.
Wozniacki channeled some of her fight to the chair umpire during a whiny exchange in the second set. A Kanepi shot was erroneously ruled in and Wozniacki took the opportunity to childishly complain about it. The complaint itself was valid -- replays showed the ball landing beyond the line -- but the setting was more lockers and Trapper Keepers than red clay and Paris. At one point, Wozniacki asked the umpire if he had ever gone to school. It was a wonder she never got to "I know you are, but what am I?"
The whole clip is embedded, but the fireworks begin at 1:49.
A transcript of the exchange that was clear on audio:
"You can not just sit there and be so arrogant. How can you see those balls there when the ball is like this out? It's not touching the line. If we had Hawk-Eye you would be so freaking embarrassed right now. So embarrassed, especially when you can see the mark. Have you been to school? Can I ask you, have you gone to school? You have gone to school, so you know that this [holds up fingers closely together] is out. It's not so difficult."
Wozniacki, who has dropped to No. 9 in the world and hasn't won a tournament since last August in New Haven, continued her outrage in the post-match press conference:
"When the ball is clearly out, I don't think there should be anything to argue about. If they cannot see, they should have other umpires on the lines or invent Hawk‑Eye on these courts. It's a disgrace that mistakes like this are made. It wasn't even like, you know, could have been in, could have been out. It was clearly out. Also, when a ball travels 5 miles an hour in the I think either the linesman or the main umpire should be able to see the ball, as well."
Is Wozniacki mocking Kanepi's light hitting? I'd call that ironic, but it's been a while since I've been to school.
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