Is there anything Mohamed Lahyani can’t do?
He can speak in tongues. He can spot movement on Mars with his own eyes. His voice can be heard from two continents away. He can sit through a three-day tennis match without going to the bathroom once.
Now it appears he can coach. And that’s not all. He can even raise Nick Kyrgios from the dead.
Yes, Mohamed actually did those things on Thursday at what is becoming a batshit crazy U.S. Open. First it was Alize Cornet’s shirt-gate. Now it’s Mohamed’s coaching conundrum.
Less than 24 hours removed from its first massive controversy, the season’s final major brewed up another one from the likeliest of sources (Kyrgios) in the unlikeliest of ways (Mohamed discovering his newest superpowers). The third-round match between Kyrgios and Pierre-Hugues Herbert began with Kyrgios doing Kyrgios things. In other words, the combustible Aussie looked like he would rather be anywhere except on a tennis court: the dentist, chemistry class, or even watching his beloved Boston Celtics lose–again–to LeBron James. He was blasting second serves upwards of 130 MPH, attempting unnecessary tweeners, and watching routine shots off the Herbert racket drift past him for winners.
The result was a quick 6-4, 3-0 deficit for one of the most talented players in the sport against the world No. 75.
Enter Mohamed Lahyani.
Never one to miss an opportunity to steal the show and seize the spotlight, Mohamed struck. He had seen enough of Nick’s tank-job and he wasn’t about to have a hand in depriving the tennis world of what it wanted to see: Roger Federer vs. Nick Kyrgios on Saturday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium. So the Swede channeled his inner Optimus Prime and transformed himself into Kyrgios’ coach, trainer, psychologist, and all-round raiser from the dead.
“I want to help you,” Mohamed, who climbed down from his chair at the changeover and got face to face with the player, could be heard telling Kyrgios. “I want to help you. I’ve seen your matches: you’re great for tennis. Nick, I know this is not you.”
Kyrgios won the second set after a pep talk from the chair umpire Mo Lahyani.
A USTA rep told me it is already looking into Lahyani's conduct in this match.
Absurd scenes. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/6qTMaoqPQd
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) August 30, 2018
The rest is history. History in that Lahyani-Kyrgios will undoubtedly go down as the most successful pep talk in tennis since Brad Gilbert-Andre Agassi during a rain delay in the 1999 French Open final. From a set a break down, a suddenly inspired Kyrgios came roaring back and dominated Herbert the rest of the way en route to a 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-0 victory.
There is, however, the issue that Mohamed violated the following ITF rule: “Officials must maintain complete impartiality with respect to players at all times. Officials shall not abuse their position of authority or control, and shall not compromise the psychological, physical or emotional well-being of other players.”
But no matter. Even though Mohamed did that, the USTA did nothing.
“After the third game of the second set in the Kyrgios-Herbert match on Court 17, with Kyrgios down 0-3, Chair Umpire Mohamed Lahyani, left his chair to check on the condition of Nick Kyrgios,” the USTA stated. “He came out of the chair because of the noise level in the Stadium during the changeover to make sure he could communicate effectively with Kyrgios.
“Lahyani was concerned that Kyrgios might need medical attention. Lahyani told Kyrgios that if he was feeling ill, that the tournament could provide medical help. He also informed Kyrgios that if his seeming lack of interest in the match continued, that as the chair umpire, he would need to take action. He again suggested to Kyrgios that he could receive medical attention.
“At the next changeover, Kyrgios down 1-4, received treatment from the physio.”
Of course, that’s not exactly what happened. In fact, it’s not even close to what happened. But the USTA isn’t about to let the facts get in the way of a good story and it certainly isn’t about to let a 45-second breach of ITF rules get in the way of a good chair umpire.
The bottom line is this: Mohamed does whatever he wants, whenever he wants. And no one is going to stop him.
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