Umpire banned for Kyrgios pep-talk at US Open

  • Posted: Sep 19, 2018

Umpire Mohamed Lahyani has been suspended from his next two scheduled tournaments for encouraging Nick Kyrgios on court during the US Open.

Lahyani was heard telling Kyrgios “I want to help you” during a changeover as the Australian trailed Pierre-Hugues Herbert by a set and a break.

Kyrgios, 23, fought back to win the second-round tie in four sets.

The ATP has banned Lahyani, 52, from October’s China Open and Shanghai Masters after an internal review.

“Lahyani’s actions in the match were deemed to have compromised the impartiality that is required of an official,” the men’s governing body said in a statement.

The Swede will be free to return to work at the Stockholm Open on 15 October.

US Open organisers said Lahyani had gone “beyond protocol” but allowed him to continue officiating in the tournament.

However, Lahyani is one of seven full-time umpires on the Tour and so the incident was still subject to ATP disciplinary action.

ATP executive vice president of rules and competition Gayle David Bradshaw said Lahyani is a “world-class and highly-respected official”, but added “his actions during the match crossed a line that compromised his own impartiality as a chair umpire”.

“Although well-intended, his actions were regrettable and cannot go without disciplinary action on our own tour,” said Bradshaw.

“We know that he will learn from this experience and we look forward to welcoming him back in October.”

After the match, world number 27 Kyrgios said it was “ridiculous” to suggest Lahyani’s words had sparked his resurgence.

However, Frenchman Herbert said it was “the point something changed” and that the umpire’s actions were unnecessary.

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