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Wimbledon doubles pair protest after being refused a bathroom break
Spain’s Marcel Granollers and Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay face being fined after a bizarre sit-down protest in a Wimbledon doubles match on Monday after they were refused permission to take a bathroom break.
Spain’s Marcel Granollers and Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay face being fined after a bizarre sit-down protest in a Wimbledon doubles match on Monday after they were refused permission to take a bathroom break.
The pair lost 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 14-12 to Britain’s Jonny Marray and Canada’s Adil Shamasdin, but the result was overshadowed by final set controversy.
Cuevas, 30, had been given a code violation earlier in the set after threatening to urinate into a ball can after he was refused permission to take a comfort break by French umpire Aurelie Tourte.
The pair then received a second warning and a point penalty when Cuevas smacked a ball out of court, giving Marray and Shamasdin match point.
Cuevas and Granollers staged a sit-down protest for 10 minutes and the tournament supervisor had to be called before Marray and Shamasdin finally clinched victory.
“It was during a changeover,” Marray said. “Something to do with a can, something to do with bathroom breaks. I don’t know what happened.”
“I went to the bathroom twice during the match and obviously the fifth set was a long one. I think you should be allowed an extra toilet break if it’s five sets.”
