The Portuguese judge whose shockingly bad call helped bounce Serena Williams from the Open was lobbed herself from the tournament, officials said yesterday.
A United States Tennis Association official confirmed that Mariana Alves has been fired for the rest of the Open. Alves, meanwhile, was nowhere to be found.
Tournament director Jim Curley said Alves had been slated to officiate at another match – but because of what happened Tuesday night, she would not handle any more officiating duties at this year’s tournament.
Either way, Open officials were full of regret about the incident in which Alves, the chair umpire for the match between Williams and Jennifer Capriati, ruled a ball out in the third set that her line judge had ruled in.
Arlen Kantarian, the chief executive of professional tennis for the USTA, said he called Williams and apologized.
“I spoke to Serena and I told her we appreciated how she handled the situation. She was very appreciative that I called,” he said.
Capriati won the match 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. Williams conceded that if she’d played better in the second set, she might still have won: “I probably should have closed it out in the second, and I didn’t.”
But she said she was “very angry and bitter” about Alves’ judging, which she said made her play “a little more safe” – meaning she was more reluctant to hit the ball toward parts of the court where Alves might call it out.
Williams was victimized by three more bad calls during the match – two by Alves and one by a line judge – but none was considered as serious as that first blown call.
It was unclear yesterday whether the controversy would hurt Alves’ judging career. She holds the ITF’s silver badge, indicating she has attained the organization’s second-highest rating in judging competence.
She has a history of having her eyes on things other than the ball – twice this year, Alves chastised players in Grand Slam events for wearing corporate logos.
When Martina Navratilova made her comeback try at the French Open in May, Alves called her out for wearing a baseball cap with the Nike swoosh.
Navratilova borrowed a pair of scissors from Alves and cut the swoosh off the cap.
“That’s what’s wrong with tennis – right here,” Navratilova said as she snipped away.
Then at a Wimbledon match in June, Alves complained about an “FCUK” logo on British player Elena Baltacha’s top.
Baltacha had battled a liver disorder that kept her away from tennis for six months before she finally got her chance at a comeback. She was grateful to her sponsor, French Connection UK, for letting her take the time off.
Alves’ order that she replace the FCUK top delayed the match’s start by 10 minutes.
“She wasn’t sure whether I was allowed to have the letters FCUK on it,” Baltacha told British reporters at the time. “I knew it was all right because I played in it a few weeks ago.”
Of Alves, Williams said: “I’d prefer she not umpire at my court anymore. She’s obviously anti-Serena.”
