Toni Nadal has rushed to the support of fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz after the shot clock controversy.
3-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz who will start his title defense this week was defending his title at Queen’s club and was upset by big-serving home favorite Jack Draper.
However the loss reacted further attention when the World #3 blasted the shot clock rule being introduced at the Championship. The 25-second countdown between the points started immediately after the previous point concluded and not when the umpire mandated it.
“I think for the player is something bad. I mean, I finish the point at the net, and I had no time to ask for the balls,” said Alcaraz at the time.
“I mean, I’m not saying to go to a towel and taking my time. I feel like I can’t ask for the balls. It’s crazy. I have time just to ask for two balls and no bounces.
“Today I felt like I was in a rush all the time. I had no time to bounce and do my routine. Of course it’s something bad for the players, I think.”
The controversy was enough to stir a debate among players this week, with several players expressing mixed feelings about the trialed change.
And among those opposing the rule is renowned coach Toni Nadal, who expressed his criticism on the rule in a column written for El Pais. The Spaniard believes the new rule is very harsh and would discourage long rallies in the matches.
He said: “A new rule that provides only 25 seconds of margin between the end of the point and the beginning of the next one: why was it created? Probably to capture the attention of the new generations, whose attention span is increasingly lower.
“It doesn’t make much sense for players to have the same amount of time after an ace and after a long and intense rally.
“The umpires have the mission and responsibility to direct the direction that their sport must take in order not to lose its essence, to adapt to the new times and to maintain, if not increase its spectacular nature. And the popularity of our sport often depends on the correctness of their decisions.
“The work of the umpires is practically reduced to that of simple point counters. What should be sought is to increase the percentage of time the ball is in play and to have long rallies in which the players must use different tricks and skills to win them.
“These are the type of fights that also attract a long applause from the public.”
The rule was also put on trial at the Halle Open, held in the same week as Queen’s but didn’t received that much ire there. Wimbledon has not adopted the proposed change, though there are fair chances that it could be put in place at more events on the ATP circuit this summer.