MELBOURNE — Roger Federer defeated Rafael Nadal 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in the 2017 Australian Open final in Melbourne, a five-set victory that delivered his 17th Grand Slam title and sparked a dispute over a medical timeout. The Swiss icon required treatment to his thigh and took a medical timeout during the fifth set, a decision 1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash labelled as cheating during BBC Radio 5 Live's Australian Open coverage.
“It’s cheating, and it’s being allowed. It’s legal cheating, but it’s still not right,” Cash said. Federer was asked about the accusation in his post-match press conference and rejected the claim directly, pointing to a leg issue that had troubled him since his match against Noah Rubin.
“Look, I mean, I explained myself a couple of days ago after the Stan [Wawrinka] match. Yeah, my leg has been hurting since the [Noah] Rubin match. I was happy that I was able to navigate through the pain,” Federer said. He explained that against Wawrinka he had pain on both sides of the groin from the start and, after Wawrinka took a medical timeout, he decided to take one himself to see if a massage would help. Federer added he felt his quad midway through the second set against Nadal and his groin midway through the third, saying, “I just told myself, the rules are there; you can use them. I also think we shouldn’t be using these rules or abusing the system. I think I’ve led the way for 20 years,” before adding, “So I think, to be critical, there is exaggerating. I’m the last guy to call a medical timeout. So I don’t know what he’s talking about.”
Nadal was also asked about the controversy after the final and declined to weigh in, saying, “No opinion about that. I don’t know what’s going on.” Federer, a 20-time Grand Slam champion, argued he would be the “last guy” to call a medical timeout and noted he has won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award a record 13 times.
Nine years later, a similar controversy followed at the Australian Open in Melbourne when Carlos Alcaraz defeated Alexander Zverev 6-4, 7-6, 6-7, 6-7, 7-5 in the semi-finals to reach the final. Zverev believed Alcaraz was being treated for cramps, which is not permitted under Grand Slam rules, and complained during and after the match. “Yeah, I mean, he was cramping, so normally you can’t take a medical timeout for cramping, yeah. What can I do? It’s not my decision. I didn’t like it, but it’s not my decision. I just said it was b—-, basically,” Zverev said. Alcaraz went on to beat Novak Djokovic in the final to complete his Career Grand Slam.