British tennis star Cameron Norrie has been accused of taking advantage of a loophole at Wimbledon.
Norrie, 29, is having a great run at this year's Wimbledon at the All England Club as he is gearing up for a quarter-final clash against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
So far, the world number 61 has beaten the likes of Roberto Bautista Agut, Frances Tiafoe, Mattia Bellucci and Nicolas Jarry on his way to the last eight.
Last time out, Norrie had to dig deep as he threw away a two-set lead before winning the fifth 6-3 against Chilean Jarry.
Advert
During the match, Jarry made a complaint over Norrie's behaviour.
He said to the chair umpire: "I just have to suck it because he always does it? That’s the reason I have to play with something that affects me. It can be changed."
The 29-year-old was frustrated by the amount of time Norrie was taking between first and second serve.
Over the last few years, it has been very clear that players have 25 seconds between points, with a shot clock visible around the court.
However, there are no rules on how long a player can take between first and second serve.
Speaking on BBC, 1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash hinted that Norrie was 'milking' the rules.
He said: "They had a little natter about the ball bouncing. I don’t know if he [Norrie] was trying to get some rest but the excessive ball bouncing was, well, excessive.
"I’ve never seen that before so maybe it was just the state he was in during the match. After the first serve you can sort of take as much time as you like, it’s a sort of silly anomaly of the rule."
The 60-year-old continued: "You have to serve by a certain time on the shot clock, but as long as you get to the line and throw the ball in the air, you can take as much time as you like after that, which is ridiculous.
"Cam sort of milked that a bit. Maybe he was tired."
Speaking afterwards, Norrie said: "For me, I wanted to take my time on the second serve and make sure that I'm getting myself ready to set. I'm not doing nothing. I actually didn't even notice he was upset with that.
"Yeah, I want to settle before I hit my second serve. I don't want to rush into it and hit a quick double. That was kind of what I'm doing with my second serve. I want to play the point. Typically I had to play a long point. If I'm hitting a second serve, I have to be ready for sure."
Where to buy last-minute Wimbledon tickets
The Wimbledon ballot may have closed for another year, but it’s not too late to buy advance tickets if you know where to look.
If you don’t mind splashing out on the experience, Seat Unique has the option to book ‘VIP Debenture Behind The Server’ and ‘VIP Debenture Front 5 Rows’ tickets.
These tickets offer 'unparalleled views' of the court, so you won't miss out on any of the action.
As for resale tickets, you'll want to head over to StubHub and Viagogo.
Marcus Chan