Former champion Marat Safin laid into the "stupid rules" of tennis after a controversial foot fault call almost derailed his progress into the second round.
Leading American Vince Spadea two sets to one but trailing 4-5 and 40-40 in the fourth, Safin foot faulted on his second serve by apparently having his back foot partly across the centre line at the beginning of his serving motion.
The resultant double fault gave Spadea set point, which he clinched, but Safin bounced back well to win 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
Winner of the 2000 U.S. Open, the Russian was in his customary belligerent mood when he greeted the media after the match.
"It's stupid rules that somebody made in, I don't know, 1850," Safin said. "Now they give me the problems with these things and it shouldn't be that way."
The official rules state that a serve is a fault if a player, at any time in his service motion, touches or goes outside the imaginary extension of the centre mark with either foot.
Safin said it was ridiculous for a foot fault to be called from the other end of the court.
"How can the guy see with sunglasses from 35 meters away on a foot fault? It doesn't make any sense," the 28-year-old said. "Why do you want to do that? What for?
"It's not so complicated. The chair umpire, when they go with the linesman, first when I start to make the foot fault, they should tell me: 'Listen, you're making a foot fault. Be careful. Next time I'm calling it.' And if you're making it on [the centre line], what difference does it make? Doesn't help me to serve better," he said.
The Rules of Tennis
The Singles Game
8. Foot Fault
The Server shall throughout the delivery of the Service:
a. Not change his position by walking or running. The Server shall not by slight movement of the feet which do not materially affect the location originally taken up by him, be deemed "to change his position by walking or running".
b. Not touch, with either foot, any area other than that behind the base-line within the imaginary extensions of the centre-mark and side-lines.
USTA Comment: The key to understanding this rule is to realize that the Server's feet must be at rest immediately before beginning to serve. Immediately thereafter, the delivery of the service begins with any arm or racket motion, and ends when the racket contacts the ball (or misses the ball in attempt to strike it).
If either foot touches the Court, including the baseline, or the imaginary extension of a line specified in Rule 8b. after his feet are at rest but before he strikes the ball, he has committed a foot fault.
There can be no foot fault if the Server does not attempt to strike at the ball. As long as the Server makes no attempt to strike at the ball, it is immaterial whether he catches it in his hand or his racket or lets it drop to the ground.
USTA Comment: This rule covers the most decisive stroke in the game, and there is no justification for its not being obeyed by players and enforced by officials. No official has the right to instruct any umpire to disregard violations of it. In a non-officiated match, the Receiver, or his partner, may call foot faults after all efforts (appeal to the server, request for an umpire, etc.) have failed and the foot faulting is so flagrant as to be clearly perceptible from the Receiver's side.
It is improper for any official to warn a player that he is in danger of having a foot fault called on him. On the other hand, if a player asks for an explanation of how he foot faulted, either the Line Umpire or the Chair Umpire should give him that information.
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