Daniil Medvedev has wished a happy retirement to chair umpire Jaume Campistol on social media – but there is no record of the Spaniard planning to step down.
Medvedev and Campistol have an eventful history, with the Russian tennis star laying into the official during the Australian Open semi-finals in 2022. In a match against Stefanos Tsitsipas, Medvedev became increasingly irritated by his opponent’s dad dishing out instructions from the stands.
« His father can talk every point? » Medvedev ranted again and again. He then called for Tsitsipas to be hit with a code violation, famously telling Campistol: « If you don’t, you are a – how can I call it – a small cat. »
On Wednesday afternoon, Medvedev posted a close-up picture of Campistol from the Tsitsipas showdown, which he went on to win in four sets. The photo was captioned: « Man a lot of fun memories on the tennis court [crying laughing emojis]. Wishing you a peaceful retirement ».
But there is one major sticking point with Medvedev’s message – Campistol, for all we know, is not retiring at all.
Fans were left to try and decipher Medvedev’s intentions in the replies to his post, with some asking whether it was actually a nod to Rafael Nadal’s imminent retirement, given there is the tiniest resemblance between the umpire and his countryman.
One confused fan, @divirj04, wrote: « Wait I don’t get it. Is this Medvedev’s way of tributing to Rafa? I haven’t seen any news of Jaume Campistol retiring any time soon?! »
Others were similarly baffled, with @b4nanash0t posting: « Wait, Jaume Campistol is retiring? Because I don’t get it. » And @logan_b8 chimed in with: « This man really wished Rafa’s lookalike a happy retirement… never change Daniil. »
Only time will tell whether Medvedev knows something about Campistol’s situation which tennis fans don’t, with the chair umpire yet to release an official statement on his future in the sport.
Medvedev’s farewell message was particularly eye-catching due to the fact he has not, as yet, dedicated a post to 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal, whose time on court as a professional will come to an end after the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga.
While Nadal is grafting away to produce a perfect send-off in front of his home fans, Medvedev has been enjoying some well-earned rest after failing to make it through the group stages at the season-ending ATP Finals tournament in Turin.
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