No penalty for U.S. Open umpire who ‘went beyond protocol’ in Kyrgios match

Umpire Mohamed Lahyani was overzealous in leaving his chair to have an extensive chat with Nick Kyrgios during Kyrgios’ second-round U.S. Open match against Pierre-Hugues Herbert on Thursday but he will be allowed to continue working during the tournament, U.S. Open officials said in a statement issued Friday morning.

Lahyani descended from his chair to have an animated talk with Kyrgios, who had looked lethargic during the match. Lahyani, a widely respected official from Sweden, could be heard telling Kyrgios, “I want to help you,” as well as saying he knew Kyrgios could play better than the 23-year old Australian had performed in losing the first set and the first three games of the second set to Herbert. Kyrgios fell behind 2-5 in that set before coming back to win the set and the match, sparking complaints from Herbert and other players.

Coaching is not permitted on the court. Kyrgios said Lahyani didn’t give him a pep talk or otherwise encourage him, but it is unusual for an umpire to leave his post. U.S. Open officials initially said he did so because the noise on Court 17 was so loud that Kyrgios would not have heard him if he had stayed seated.

“After a comprehensive review conducted by U.S. Open officials, including U.S. Open Tournament Director David Brewer, Tournament Referee Brian Earley and others, the U.S. Open determined that chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani’s conduct during Thursday’s second-round match involving Nick Kyrgios and Pierre-Hugues Herbert went beyond protocol,” the statement said. “Lahyani was advised to adhere to proper protocols in all matches that he officiates moving forward.

“Lahyani will continue to officiate during the 2018 U.S. Open. His performance will continue to be evaluated, as will that of all chair umpires throughout the course of the U.S. Open.”

Mohamed Lahyani

(Glyn Kirk / AFP / Getty Images)

Herbert called Lahyani “an amazing umpire,” and said he believed Lahyani took action out of concern for Kyrgios and for the integrity of a match that Kyrgios appeared to care little about. However, Herbert thought Lahyani went too far.

“He’s actually a really good umpire. I think he knows everybody. I think he cares for Nick,” Herbert said. “He cares for the show also because people were going after the first set. Everybody was there for the start. When they saw Nick in a bad mood, I would say, for the first two sets, they started going away.

“I think like everybody, I think Nick today could be an amazing player. Just sometimes he’s mentally, yeah, not here. I don’t know where he was for the first two sets. I know he was on court after when he started playing, when he kicked my ass and was much better than me.”

Novak Djokovic also praised Lahyani’s character. “A chair umpire should be neutral. But everybody who knows Mohamed knows as well he’s quite different from others. He’s always very positive, smiles, tries to bring that energy to the court. He likes to make a show, as well, out of it,” Djokovic said. “Knowing Mohamed, I really don’t think that he meant to do it for any other reason but to really try to help Nick to understand that if he continues doing that, he might get, you know, fined or penalty or whatever, or warning.”