Roger Federer had accused chair umpire Fergus Murphy of Stealing his challenge in a heated mat

Roger Federer is known for his cool demeanor on the court. He is one of the few players used as an example of on-court behavior. As they say, ‘Nobody is perfect,’ the same applies to the Swiss maestro. He has also had quite a few outbursts on the court. The former World No. 1 developed a reputation as an aggressive young player.

He, however, worked on it and learned to keep his emotions in check. Despite this, there were moments when he blew some steam on the court. The 20-time Grand Slam title winner had one such moment during the 2018 Australian Open.

Playing as the defending champion and going for his 20th Major, Federer was up against Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals. Federer was the second seed while Berdych was the 19th seed. With the Czech player serving for the first set, Federer had two crucial break points at 40-15. Berdych’s serve was called ‘In’ and Federer immediately challenged the call.

Chair umpire Fergus Murphy informed Hawkeye wasn’t working and his call would stay. On top of this, Federer would also lose his challenge. This angered the former World No. 1 and had a confrontation with Murphy. While a big part of their conversation wasn’t audible, Federer was eventually heard saying, “Are you comfortable with this? You can’t steal my challenge. You’re okay with this?”

Roger Federer later admitted that he had made a mistake

Despite the call going against him, Roger Federer managed to break the game and eventually clinch the set in the tiebreaker. He went on to win the match in straight sets reaching the semi-finals. However, upon reaching the semis and having time to reflect on his actions, he admitted his reaction wasn’t correct.

“I had to get a bit lucky, a bit angry, a bit frustrated, maybe at the umpire. I actually thought the call was good, I was just getting a bit frustrated and antsy. I’m happy I got out of the first set. It ended up being the key of the match. It could have gone either way. He deserved it … I stole it,” said Federer following his win over Berdych.

Then a five-time Australian Open winner, Federer too on Chung Hyeon in the semi-finals. The South Korean had to however retire in the semi-finals, an anti-climatic ending to his brilliant run. Just to remind you, going into the 2023 Australian Open, he is the last player to defeat Novak Djokovic at Melbourne Park following his fourth-round win over the Serb.

In the finals, Federer took on Marin Cilic and went on to win the match in five sets. It made him the first man to clinch 20 Grand Slam singles titles and his sixth Australian Open trophy. His tally at Australian Open has since then been eclipsed only by Djokovic who has nine titles going into the 2023 edition.

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