Chair Umpire, Carlos Bernardes, answered some of your questions today in live chat and here you can read what was it all about:
ADMIN: I'd like to welcome our dear guest, Mr. Carlos
Bernardes! Hope you are ready for a lot of questions!
:)
CB: It's a pleasure to be here and to participate...
VEDRAN BABIĆ: How good is life of a professional tennis
umpire on the Tour financially speaking? :)
CB: Not as good as a tennis players :)
LUKA: Do you ever get starstruck?
CB: no, never
MIRA: Memorable quotes heard from the chair?
:)
CB: there is one :) one Chair Umpire said to a player - their
scoreboard says it's you against him, not you against me :)
DRAGAN: Do you have a preference between calling singles
or doubles?
CB: no, I like good tennis, doesn't matter if it is single or
doubles...
DRAGAN: You do a lot of your work sitting in chairs, which
tournament has the most comfortable chairs? :-) Any least
comfortable chairs that you can remember?
CB: Chair from ATP 1000 Series are comfortable and US Open
also...
ANTE: Do you think it's easier to call tournaments with or
without Hawkeye, and how is it different for you?
CB: it helps players and officials when they have a doubt about
the call, meaning the player can play more relaxed.. and for me, I
can also use that help in cases me or line Umpires can not decide
about the call.
MARKO: Najdraži crtić, pjesmica? :)
CB: I like all the songs from U2 and I also like Donald Duck
:)
ANTE: If you could have a dream match up against any
player on any surface and round, who would it be and
why?
CB: I'd like to play Federer on grass and Nadal on clay... of
course, in the Finals :)
BORKO: How did you get started in tennis?
CB: when I was 14 we used to jump over the fence to play tennis on
Sundays at Tennis club in my city. One day Chief of the Club was
there and told us "Why don't you come and play tennis like all the
others without jumping over the fence?" and that was the first time
I actually had contact with tennis
BORKO: Do you get to pick your own
schedule?
CB: yes, I do, we pick the schedule 6 months ahead.
RENETA: Who is the most famous person in your
phone-book?
CB: My Mom :)
RENETA: Most memorial match as an umpire?
CB: Wimbledon Final last year as Wimbledon was my first tournament
that I saw on TV when I was 13...
LUKA: Who's your favourite tennis player?
CB: I don't have the favorite player as such but I prefer players
who perform well and have a good match..
LUKA: Was it hard to become an umpire? Did you have to
study a lot?
CB: today it is more difficult as we have many people trying to
become a top official and we don't have many spots available. But
the most difficult part is work for a long time at maintain that
top level for almost 20 years as for us every match is like a Final
and you need to do the good job for the players every time... You
need to know different languages, psychology, high communication
skills and of course, good common sense that is difficult to teach
:)
DRAGANA: Has any chair umpire ever taken a bathroom break?
:-)
CB: yes, many times :)
DRAGANA: When have you realized that you want to be an
umpire?
CB: I was a tennis teacher and I was working as a line Umpire and
a Chair Umpire and my boss told me to decide as I was traveling a
lot already and I decided to become a professional Umpire
ANNA: When did you get your Gold Badge and how long did it
take you to get it?
CB: I had a special training because I already worked at that
level for ATP and I got the Gold Badge without passing normal
process...
CAROLINE: What happens when you come late for a
match?
CB: players will wait for me and usually we are waiting for them
:)
SLAVKO: When you walk in the street and if you go to a
restaurant, do people recognize you? How often do you use your star
status to get special treatment?
CB: yes, because of the TV, especially the people who likes
tennis. I've never used my status for that, no...
MARIA: Did you ever apologize to a player for a wrong
decision after the match and to whom?
CB: I did :)
MIRAN: Have you ever been late to a match? :) and
why?
CB: almost, in Roland Garros as they move the match to Court 17
and I was on Court 1, so I needed to cross the whole RG to get
there.. and once that same thing, in Wimbledon :)
ADMIN: That was all for today, I hope you had fun and also
that we helped our visitors with some answers! I wish you all the
best and good luck!
CB: thank you very much, hope to see you guys next year!
