Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro both said they felt sorry for Serena Williams following the controversial women’s singles final.
Djokovic said chair umpire Carlos Ramos “should not have pushed Serena to the limit” when asked about the match in his press conference.
“I really felt for Serena. Tough thing for a chair umpire to deal with, as well. We have to empathise with him. Everyone was in a very awkward situation yesterday. A lot of emotions. Serena was crying. Naomi was crying. It was really, really tough.
Pushed to the limit
“But I have my personal opinion that maybe the chair umpire should not have pushed Serena to the limit, especially in a Grand Slam final. He did change the course of the match. [It] was in my opinion, maybe unnecessary. We all go through our emotions, especially when you’re fighting for a Grand Slam trophy,” he said.
del Potro said women tennis players deserved to be treated the same as their male counterparts.
“Of course the final was not the final that everybody expected. I agree that the girls have to be treated the same as the men, win the same money. They made a big effort to play these kind of tournaments and they deserve to be treated the same as we are.”
