The Times - UK (2022-01-26)

the times | Wednesday January 26 2022 2GM 61

Australian OpenSport

D Shapovalov (Can, 14) 34663

R Nadal (Sp, 6) 6643 6

‘Role model’

Kyrgios thrills

despite hitting

boy in crowd

Stuart Fraser

On the eve of Australia Day, the home

pairing of Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi

Kokkinakis captivated the nation

by reaching the semi-finals of the

Australian Open men’s doubles.

The host broadcaster, Channel Nine,

took the decision to cut away from the

match involving Rafael Nadal and

Denis Shapovalov after two sets and in-

stead broadcast a thrilling 7-5, 3-6, 6-3

win over the sixth seeds, Tim Pütz and

Michael Venus.

“Me and Thanasi are definitely role

models to the youth in Australia,”

Kyrgios said. “I know over the years I

haven’t been the best role model, but I

was learning how to deal with every-

thing. I think at 26 I have matured. We

are not special people. We’re normal

humans that you might see walking in

Australia and we are now in the semi-

finals of a slam. We are just relatable.”

Kyrgios feared he might be defaulted

when he accidentally hit a nine-year-

old spectator with the ball. But no

malice was intended and he apologised

by giving the child his racket, a gesture

that was appreciated by the crowd.

The theatrics were in stark contrast to

Ashleigh Barty’s display in her women’s

singles quarter-final. The world No 1

from Australia was ruthlessly efficient in

her 6-2, 6-0 win against Jessica Pegula,

the No 21 seed from the US. Barty has

cruised through to the last four without

dropping a set as she bids to become the

first home representative to win the

singles since Chris O’Neil in 1978.

“To go out there and play a semi-final

at home, I couldn’t be more pumped,”

Barty said. She now plays Madison

Keys, the unseeded American who

knocked out the French Open cham-

pion, Barbora Krejcikova, 6-3, 6-2.

The young spectator was in tears after

being hit by a stray ball from Kyrgios

he held his serve throughout the decid-

ing set. One break for 2-0 was enough to

see him through, as Shapovalov’s

frustrations materialised in a high

number of unforced errors towards the

end. He threw his racket to the court in

frustration when defeat was confirmed.

“Where is the line?” Shapovalov

asked afterwards. “Where are you

going to step on the players

and say, ‘OK, I respect

everything that Rafa has

done and I think he’s an

unbelievable player, but

there’s got to be some

boundaries’? It’s just so

frustrating as a player.

You feel like you’re not

just playing against the

player, you’re playing

against the umpires, you’re

playing against so much more.”

Nadal admitted that he took an extra

30 seconds to change his clothes after

the first set, but believed that was “nor-

mal” in the hot conditions. He also de-

nied the suggestion by Shapovalov that

he received leniency from Bernardes.

“I really believe that on court you

don’t deserve better treatment than

others,” Nadal, the world No 5, said. “I

really don’t want it and don’t feel I have

it. I honestly feel sorry for him. He

played a great match for a long time. Of

course it is tough to lose a match like this.

“He’s young and we all make mis-

takes in our careers. I made a lot of mis-

takes too when I was younger, and

probably he will understand

later on, after he thinks the

proper way, that probably

he was not right today.”

It is a testament to

Nadal’s resilience that

he has lost only twice on

the 230 occasions at a

major tournament in

which he has had a two-

set lead. Much to his relief,

he has two days to recover

before his semi-final tomorrow

against Matteo Berrettini, the No 7

seed from Italy, who defeated France’s

Gaël Monfils 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-2.

“Matteo is one of the best players in

the world,” Nadal said. “I need to play at

100 per cent, at my highest level, if I

want to try to be in the final.”

Australian

Open

quarter-finals

Today’s matches: live from

4am on Eurosport.

Highlights from 10am.

Radio: BBC 5 Live

Sports Extra,

from 7am

seemingly complaining that Nadal had

not already served, despite there being

eight seconds remaining on the 25-

second shot clock. Nadal responded by

walking towards the net to confront

Shapovalov in an attempt to clarify

what the issue was.

Bernardes took no action until early

in the fourth set, when Nadal received a

warning for a time violation on break

point down in the fourth game. The

intervention unnerved Nadal, who

immediately hit a tame double fault to

concede the game.

At 4-1 down, Nadal called the trainer

to the court because of discomfort in his

stomach. He was given medication and

was frantically using the ice towel and

air conditioning hose to cool down in

the heat. After losing the set, he left the

court for a medical evaluation and toilet

break, lasting six minutes combined.

Shapovalov was also angered by this,

though this is permitted under the rules.

Nadal’s fighting spirit knows no

bounds and he battled through this

adversity. Despite a total of 11 double

faults, the most he has hit in a match

during his 21-year professional career,

Nadal’s lengthy service routine was the source of frustration for Shapovalov, who had words

with the Spaniard during the second set, above left, before smashing his racket at the end, left

‘Umpires 100% favour Nadal’

Stuart Fraser

Tennis

Correspondent,

Melbourne

Rafael Nadal was accused by his
defeated opponent of receiving special
treatment from umpires after
somehow surviving a dramatic five-set
Australian Open quarter-final to keep
alive his bid for a record 21st grand-slam
men’s singles title.
It took the 35-year-old Spaniard all
he had left in the tank to come through
a gruelling battle played in tempera-
tures reaching 32C. Suddenly unsettled
by a stomach issue midway through the
match, he narrowly managed to hold
on for a 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 victory
against Denis Shapovalov, the No 14
seed from Canada, in four hours and
eight minutes.
The tennis was overshadowed,
however, by complaints from
Shapovalov during and after
the match that Nadal was
wasting time.
The 22-year-old lost his
temper at the start of the
second set with an unsavoury
blast towards the umpire,
Carlos Bernardes, after Nadal
had exceeded the two minutes
permitted for a break. “You guys are
all corrupt,” he said.
Shapovalov will almost certainly be
fined by tournament officials for this
comment. Later he expressed regret
at his choice of words, but doubled
down on his belief that Nadal is not
suitably punished for the time he takes
between points. Asked if Nadal receives
preferential treatment “because of who
he is”, Shapovalov replied: “100 per cent
he does. 100 per cent.
“I think I misspoke when I said he’s
corrupt. It’s definitely emotional but I
do stand by my side. I think it’s unfair
how much Rafa is getting away with.
I’m completely ready to play and the
[shot] clock is ticking three, two, one,
clicking towards zero. I’m looking at the
umpire and obviously I’m going to
speak up and say something.
“Every other match that I have
played, the pace has been so quick
because the refs have been on the clock
after every single point. This one, after
the first two sets it was an hour and a
half, just because he’s dragged [it] out so
much after every single point. He’s
given so much time in between sets.”
There was confusion before the
second game of the second set when
Shapovalov held his arms up in the air,

seeminglycomplaining that Nada

NNNadal’s

with the S

victory

No 1 4

and

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al

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ainly be

for this

MARTIN KEEP/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

One of sport’s biggest cryptocurrency-
based fan platforms has gone into
liquidation, leaving thousands of
supporters with tokens that are now
virtually worthless.
IQONIQ, which had deals with La
Liga in Spain, the McLaren Formula
One team and several leading Euro-
pean football clubs, has collapsed in
Monaco. It was in effect a social media
engagement platform for fans of the
sports it sponsored and sold its own
cryptocurrency tokens.
The liquidation of the platform
leaves clubs, sports organisations and

Fans and clubs face big losses after cryptocurrency firm fails

Martyn Ziegler Chief Sports Reporter fans potentially out of pocket. Kazim
Atilla, its chief executive, said that
“millions” of IQONIQ tokens or coins
had been bought and admitted that
they were now worth almost nothing.
However, he insisted that the value
could bounce back. The Spanish club
Real Sociedad have said that they are
owed €820,000 (about £685,000) by
IQONIQ. Crystal Palace have begun
legal action over missed payments.
Atilla said that the company had
been severely affected by the pandemic
but insisted that it was still operating
and would now move from Monaco to
another country.
The Football Supporters’ Associa-

tion said that league chiefs and the

government need to regulate crypto-

currency-related platforms. Socios, the

leading fan engagement platform with

1.3 million users globally, has also writ-

ten to the Premier League saying that

there needs to be a code of practice for

all cryptocurrency-related partner-

ships with English top-flight clubs.

IQONIQ’s liquidation was officially

confirmed in Monaco on Christmas

Eve. Investigations by The Times have

established that the firm failed to

pay sporting partners on time.

Palace announced a shirtsleeve

sponsorship deal with IQONIQ in Sep-

tember 2020 but the partnership was

suspended in February 2021 before the

launch of any fan tokens or promotions.

It is understood the club suspended the

deal after a payment was missed.

In January 2021, Essex County

Cricket Club signed a three-year deal

with IQONIQ, promising their

supporters “a much more personalised

experience”. Essex did not respond

when asked to comment.

In rugby league, several Betfred

Super League clubs signed agreements,

including Wigan Warriors, who had

their shirts sponsored by IQONIQ last

season and had been due to continue

with the branding this season.

A Wigan spokesman confirmed that

the club were “aware of the situation”

with IQONIQ but declined to com-

ment. La Liga also declined to comment

on its licensing deal with the platform.

McLaren confirmed that its contract

with IQONIQ had been terminated.

According to the Norwegian investi-

gative website Josimar, IQONIQ listed

its own cryptocurrency on a cryptoex-

change in March last year, but its value

plummeted and by the turn of this year

it was worth almost nothing.

Atilla said: “We are still busy with our

partners to get the right solution.”

Former staff at the company have

told The Times that they are owed

substantial sums in unpaid salaries.