Alex de Minaur’s third round match was brought to a halt (Image: BBC)
BBC commentator Pat Cash launched a passionate rant about medical time-outs during live Wimbledon coverage on Saturday. The Australian was speaking during a match involving his compatriot Alex de Minaur and American hopeful Zachary Svajda. At 5-2 down in the third set, with the first two sets shared one apiece, Svajda called for the physio. However, Cash was not too happy with what he saw.
“I am so against this, the doctors need to stand up and go, no, this is an injury,” the 61-year-old said. “Here’s the rule, anything beyond the fourth set in the men’s, unless you twist your ankle or roll something or run into the net post or whatever, you shouldn’t get a MTO.” Eventually the two players resumed their match. De Minaur wrapped up the third set by six games to two but Svajda was able to hold serve to kick off the fourth.
“As simple as that. Because it’s tiring, you get tired,” Cash continued. The doctor should come up and go, ‘Guess what, you’ve just been playing three hours. You’re tired. Your muscles are tired. Move on. Play on’.
Fellow commentator Todd Woodbridge said: “He’s a tough man, folks. Pat Cash.” However, Cash then pushed back, saying. “No, because this changes the momentum of the game and it’s against the rules.”
De Minaur, the fifth seed, hadn’t dropped a single set before facing his American opponent on Court 3. He beat Roman Andres Burruchaga on the same court to start his SW19 campaign before also making light work of Adrian Mannarino.
Svajda started out with a win over lucky loser Pablo Llamas Ruiz, who had replaced Mattia Bellucci in the main draw. He then needed five sets in round two when he took on Kamil Majchrzak of Poland.
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Zachary Svajda called for a medical time out late in the third set (Image: Getty)
“One of the things I have learned in early stages of my career, I was a little bit too tough on myself, wanting to start these tournaments at the highest level possible,” De Minaur said after his second round win. “And often I would just get frustrated and let kind of negative feelings kind of not allow me to get through some tough moments, right?
“What I have learned is ultimately the first week is all about trying to survive and advance, right? It doesn’t matter how you do it, whether it’s pretty, whether it’s ugly, whether you play your best match or your worst match. As long as you get through, you give yourself a chance.
“And I feel like once the first week finishes, that second week is a little bit of a reset, and then it’s, like, okay, now you’ve got to kind of shift the mindset, and now you’re playing to kind of go deep, right, or win the tournament, right. That’s, I guess, the two mindsets.
“The first week, it’s surviving and finding ways, digging deep, no matter what is thrown at you. And then the second week is where you can enjoy yourself a little bit more.”