Australian Open officials have been praised after launching a ‘sting operation’ to catch Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas ‘red handed’ during his Australian Open semifinal against Daniil Medvedev.
Much to the outrage of his Russian foe, Tsitsipas appeared to receive advice from his father Apostolos, who was watching the match from the player’s box at Melbourne Park.
Such was the apparent frequency of the act that Medvedev urged umpire Jaume Campistol to give Tsitsipas a code violation after Tsitispas tied the score at a set each, and said he would be a “small cat” for not doing so.
“Are you mad? Can his father talk every point? Are you stupid? Oh my God, you are so bad,” Medvedev raged in a meltdown.
“How can you be so bad in the semi-final of a grand slam? Look at me! I’m talking to you!”
But as footage later released online has shown, the officials brought things under control.
Rather sneakily, they tucked Greek official Eva Asderaki-Moore away in a corner near to where Apostolos was sitting and supposedly bellowing orders, yet out of sight to both father and son alike.
In one video filmed around the time Tsitsipas was finally punished, Asderaki-Moore emerges and gives a signal to Campistol before going back into hiding, which confuses Stefanos and prompts him to perform a mock search for the spy.