Alexander Zverev was involved in a tense exchange with the chair umpire during his 2026 Miami Open semifinal against Jannik Sinner. The German was handed a time violation after he failed to serve in time in the second set by chair umpire Greg Allensworth.
This prompted a loud booing reaction from the crowd and Zverev made it known who it was for. Pointing towards the chair umpire, Zverev allegedly told Allensworth:
“That’s on you.”
The call from the chair umpire disrupted Zverev’s rhythm during a crucial service game locked at 3-3, 40-30. Before the time violation, there were two occasions where the German complained to Allensworth for not getting enough time in between serves vs Sinner.
“The two times you went over, you weren’t waiting on him,” the umpire said.
To this, Zverev replied:
“I was. I know which ones you’re talking about… on the Ad side. I was.”
Zverev went on to lose the second set and essentially the game 6-3, 7-6(4), as Sinner reached the final, with hopes of winning the tournament for the third time.
Meanwhile, in the comments section, fans called out the favoritism towards Sinner. The German allegedly took 25 seconds on average between two serves, while Sinner took 30 seconds.
“Sinner taking avg 30 secs b/w serves and Sasha taking 25 secs :.. And still Sasha gets the warning.. The favouritism of SinCaraz has to go..it’s getting too much now,” one fan pointed out.
“It was so unfair from the umpire because Sinner has been running down the clock for almost all his service games,” another fan wrote.
“it’s always this umpire 😂” one fan added.
“To be fair, Sinner ran the click a few times with no warnings. And that umpire is a jerk,” one fan commented.
“Unbelievable considering Sinner is one of the guys on tour that should be called for slow play,” one fan wrote.
“This is the same umpire that screw Draper vs FAA match back in Cincinnati in 2024. How is he still allowed to umpire matches?” one fan recalled.
Jannik Sinner Makes History At Miami Open
By setting up a date with Jiri Lehecka in the Miami Open final, Jannik Sinner has accomplished something unprecedented. He is the first player in history to reach the final of three or more Masters tournaments consecutively without dropping a set.
Continuing from the Paris Masters to win the Indian Wells Masters, Sinner aims for his third Masters title. However, he will face an opponent who is yet to drop a serve in this tournament. Lehecka is the first player since 2018 to do so.
It remains to be seen if Sinner can win the Miami Open.
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