PARIS(AP) When Fernando Gonzalez got upset, he sat down - right on the court, and right on the very spot that caused his angst.
The comedic display on a disputed point late in the fourth set may have spurred him on a bit, but it wasn't enough for Gonzalez to stop Robin Soderling from winning 6-3, 7-5, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4 on Friday and advancing to the French Open final.
I can't complain about one point when there were more than 200 in the match,'' said Gonzalez, the 2007 Australian Open runner-up.That wouldn't be very fair play for me to complain, but it was hard.''
Trailing by a set but coming back strong, Gonzalez was angered by a linesman's call that went against him. The Chilean appealed to the chair umpire, who in turn called out the linesman to point out the mark of the ball in the clay.
Gonzalez didn't feel he got a satisfactory response.
Well, the ball was out,'' Gonzalez said.I saw the ball out. I showed it. The line judge comes, he shows nothing, because he didn't show me anything. That drove my crazy. I said, 'Show me the mark,' and the umpire showed me nothing.''
While many players rub out close calls or questionable marks with their shoes, Gonzalez found a new way. He returned to the spot - on the other side of the court from where he had just been arguing again with the chair umpire - and sat in the red clay and rubbed the spot with his backside.
I'm human. I didn't know really what to do, because I show the mark,'' Gonzalez said.And then, I don't know, I justdid something for fun, because there is no way out after that.''
Soderling said he could understand why Gonzalez got so mad.
In this match there (were) a lot of close calls, I think. The wind took the clay away a little bit, so it was difficult to really see any marks,'' said Soderling, who eliminated four-time defending champion Rafael Nadal in the fourth round.So, I mean, I agree with him. I would have complained as well.''
Gonzalez ended up winning the fourth set, and then went up an early break in the fifth, leading 3-0 and 4-1 before Soderling won five straight games to end it.
With the majority of players, when you have a break or when you feel you're going to win, you have to put more pressure, and this is where your opponent gets very dangerous,'' said Gonzalez, who finished playing the match with clay caked to the back of his shorts.That's probably what happened. I probably wasn't playing my best level when I was leading.''