Stefanos Tsitsipas stunned Roger Federer at the Australian Open and invoked the 20-time Grand Slam champion's name again in Miami.
The 10th-ranked Greek suggests elite players, including Federer, benefit from a double standard from chair umpires.
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Responding to questions from his fans in a Twitter Q & A, Tsitsipas expanded on his comments saying he believes Federer and other champions "receive certain privileges when it comes to certain rules and umpire decisions."
"I felt this a couple of times when playing these guys and I think it's a bit unfair," Tsitispas said.
Asked his reaction to the 20-year-old Greek's comments, Federer said while it's true some chair umpires are more familiar with stars' behaviors, he shot down suggests there is a double standard in enforcing rules.
"I think with the umpires and the top guys on the main courts, I think the umpires know the top guys, and they know their problems or they know how they behave or they know how they are gonna react, so they know what acting stupid and silly means and what normal is," Federer said. "I think because we know each other very well, I think it's easier for the umpire to handle a top guy that they know over an up-and-coming guy like Tsitsipas or a young guy. And that sometimes gets lost in translation and maybe bad mistakes can happen."
The 20-time Grand Slam champion says he does not believe chair umpires practice preferential treatment.
"But I don't see preferential treatment, to be honest," Federer said. "There shouldn't be. If I get warnings, and I do get warnings sometimes—I got one just recently, maybe Dubai, I don't know, whatever—it's normal.
"So they should just, based on what happened, take those decisions, and I really feel, how do you say, the umpires do that. I'm sorry that Stefanos feels that way."
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve