Rebel without a clue: Tarango's tirade raises official questions
JEFF Tarango has become the Hugh Grant of the tennis world. Like the English actor with the cheeky grin and rampant libido, one insane act has put Tarango's tennis career in jeopardy. Irked by a refereeing decision during a Wimbledon singles match he sat sullenly in a chair, was given a code violation for not playing on, rounded on the official calling him 'corrupt' and then stormed from the court leaving opponent Alexander Mronz and the crowd shellshocked.
Tarango, who has a reputation as a bit of a hothead, then compounded his initial stupidity by further attacking umpire Bruno Rebeuh in a press conference rather than going into mea culpa mode. The American's gripe is that he is demonstrative by nature and should be allowed to express his feelings on court without being subjected to constant censure by umpires, who target him because he does not accept borderline decisions with equanimity. It's easy to feel some sympathy with Tarango, but his rebel with a cause image is not totally convincing.
The 26-year-old Californian, whose professed liking for philosophy seems to have left him none the wiser about the thought processes of umpires, was on the other side of the net earlier in the week when Briton Tim Henman accidentally hit a ballgirl when he struck a ball in anger between points.
Rather than side with his fellow player, Tarango reminded the umpire that it was a defaulting offence and Henman and partner Jeremy Bates were disqualified. Tarango said after the game that he would have expected to be thrown out of tennis if he had perpetrated a similar act. That comment may well come back to haunt him after his own churlishness.
The Tarango affair aside, it's true that players of certain sports are having to cope with increasingly officious referees and umpires whose decisions can turn a match.
More and more, players with the mental ability to rid bad calls from their minds and carry on with the game will come out on top over their less psychologically hardened rivals. A classic case of this was the Michelle Martin versus Cassie Jackman semi-final in the Women's World Squash Championship in Hong Kong last week. Both players were subjected to strange rulings, but it was Jackman who became more unhinged by them. The result was she lost her rhythm and the match. 'You should not lose concentration [in situations like that], but it does your head in a bit,' was the telling comment from a player who knew that a little more composure could have been enough for victory. The ever-wise Martin said that one solution to poor refereeing is for players to take up umpiring themselves. That might be the only career option left to young Mr Tarango after Wimbledon.
