He’s human after all: Federer slapped with code violation
The star can speak eight different languages, and now one of them has gotten him in trouble.
Roger Federer faced off with a lineswoman on Tuesday after he was penalised for swearing on court during a thrilling five-set match at the Australian Open.
The atmosphere was tense in Melbourne as the 20-time major winner trailed unseeded American Tennys Sandgren at Melbourne Park.
During the third game of the third set, Federer began to become visibly frustrated as he swore on the court after hitting the net on a return shot.
The commentators revealed that the tennis champion – who speaks eight languages – said an “R-rated German word.”
Chair umpire Marijana Veljovic called a code violation for an “audible obscenity”, something the 38-year-old wasn’t expecting.
“What did I say?” asked Federer, completely shocked as to how she understood him.
Veljovic, who is Serbian, replied: “I can’t repeat that,” before saying that she heard him “very clearly.”
A furious Federer then walked over to confront the lineswoman, before walking back to Veljovic who stood firmly on her decision.
He then requested a medical timeout before returning to the court to hold serve.
Speaking at the post-match press conference after a stunning victory, Federer, who was now much more relaxed admitted to swearing in two different languages.
“It was a mix. Clearly she [the lineswoman] speaks mixed. Didn’t know that,” he said.
“Next time I got to check the linespeople.”
Federer, who was born in Basel, Switzerland, is fluent in German, French and English, and can also speak some Swedish, Spanish and Italian.