Tsonga says chair umpire Steiner favored Nadal

n the aftermath of his 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 loss to Rafael Nadal in the Sony Ericsson Open quarterfinals last night, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga alleged that chair umpire Damian Steiner was giving preferential treatment to the world No. 2.

"I was complaining because all the match; I’ve got to," Tsonga told reporters. "I have to challenge, and I was right many, many times. He never take initiative when it's against Rafa. It's all the time like this. So I have to be really focused on the ball, because if the ball is out, if it's really close, he would never say out against Rafa. Always to say against me. If Rafa don't like him anymore, I mean, he would not be in the chair many times on final and semifinal. So sometimes it's not fair. Because I have to take decision, all the time. And he never take decision. He just say the score. That's why sometimes I'm upset about it."

Tsonga added that he felt it’s like double work on the court because he had to watch the ball, the lines and also play the shots. The world No. 6 also complained that he was not scheduled on center court until his match against Nadal. 

"It come in your head and you focus on it and you don't have to," Tsonga said. "Then, I lose my concentration, sometimes because of that. He played like three times on the court. I didn't play on the court. I mean, it's like this."

Tsonga, Nadal and some other players have argued that since the advent of Hawk-Eye, too many chair umpires have become too passive.

"I understand sometimes the frustration on this situations," Nadal said. "Because that is true that the referees with the Hawk-Eye are doing less overrules than before. I said hundreds of times, too. But is not because he's playing against me. Happen to me a lot of times, no? Easy to remember. In Australia, you remember against [Tomas] Berdych the very important points 6-all in the tiebreak of the first set? So he didn't make overrule, too, and ball was clear out. So I called the challenge late and the point was for Berdych. So is not a thing with me. Is a general thing with the referees today that with the Hawk-Eye. I believe that they feel that they have less pressure than before. So probably knowing that you have the challenge, they don't take the risk to have to overrule. Tsonga is right in one thing; he's wrong in another thing."

tennis.com