Andy Roddick in expletive rant after Daniel Vallejo says a man should have umpired his French Open match
Andy Roddick did not mince his words when laying into Adolfo Daniel Vallejo after his controversial comments following his French Open defeat to Moise Kouame.
The 22-year-old lost in a fifth-set tie-breaker to the Frenchman in round two of the tournament, and then he drew the ire of many with his post-match comments.
He told Clay Magazine, “Matches like this have to be umpired by a man; it’s very difficult for a woman to do it. It has to be refereed by a man, because it’s a very demanding crowd and you need a lot of strength to go against it.”
The Parisian crowd was very pro Kouame but Vallejo’s comments have sparked sexism claims, with tournament organisers announcing on Friday that he would face a significant sanction for his remarks.
A statement said, “The competence of an umpire is not determined by their gender, but by their professionalism and ability to officiate at the highest level. The outcome of a sporting event, whether positive or negative, can never justify or excuse such remarks.”
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Now, former world No 1 Roddick has torn into Vallejo on the latest episode of Served.
He said, “Don’t get me f****** started on that a**hole. Vallejo said a man should be refereeing his match. Is there any irony in the fact that a woman was umpiring the match, and he said to control the crowd, there needs to be a man up there?
“Which I found ironic because the guy that he lost to isn’t technically a man yet, he’s 17. Just imagine if you had been playing a man, how badly it would have gone for you? F*** off.
“I can fight the premise of even thinking that, and then there’s another level of anger, but for someone being so f****** stupid to say it out loud. Whatever. I hope he gets bad line calls… from guys.”
While Vallejo awaits his punishment, Kouame lost to Alejandro Tabilo in round three of the French Open but it is clear that he has a big fan in Roddick.
The American praised his impressive conditioning and potential, while fellow Served co-host Jon Wertheim hailed the 17-year-old as the “revelation of the tournament”.
Roddick added, “Kouame is legit. 17-years-old. He didn’t look tired at all. I think he’s a physical monster. The shots he missed, he kind of went for a bad drop shot on match point, but there’s not a part of his game that you look at and say, ‘Oh, that’s a complete liability at this point’.
“His forehand has great shape to it, especially the one cross-court. It feels like he hits it eight feet above the net, and it still is kind of tumbling away. By the time it gets there, he can hit the off forehand both ways. He can pull it.
“He can play it off to the back end. Slides. Great. He’ll only get stronger, which is crazy to see. Because he’s got shoulders wider than two people put together. A lot of upside for him.”
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