"It's unfair how much Rafa is getting away with, it's a joke" - Denis Shapovalov on preferential treatment he feels Rafael Nadal gets from umpires

Denis Shapovalov did not pull any punches in his press conference after his loss to Rafael Nadal on Tuesday, accusing officials of giving the Spaniard preferential treatment. The Canadian said he respected Nadal for everything he has done for tennis, but in the same breath, insisted that the Spaniard had crossed a line during their Australian Open quarter-final meeting.

The World No. 5 survived a five-set thriller against Shapovalov, winning 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 after four hours and eight minutes. In the second set, Shapovalov completely lost his composure and accused the chair umpire of "being corrupt" for not handing Nadal a time violation.

The 22-year-old felt that Nadal had taken too much time between points and that he should have been punished for it. Carlos Bernardes, the chair umpire, pointed out that by walking up to him and arguing his case, Shapovalov too wasn't ready to play the point, which further angered the World No. 14.

Speaking about the incident at his post-match press conference, Shapovalov admitted that his choice of words was a mistake. But he pointed out that Nadal had been given far too much leeway by Bernardes.

According to the 14th seed, Bernardes' reasoning for not penalizing Nadal was a "joke."

"I respect everything that Rafael Nadal has done and I think he's an unbelievable player. But there's got to be some boundaries, some rules set. It's unfair how much Rafa is getting away with," Shapovalov said. "I was completely ready to play for a minute and a half. But [the umpire] told me he was not going to give him a code violation because I was not ready to play. It's a big joke."

The Canadian further declared that none of the previous matches he had played at the tournament were this long and blamed the Spaniard for unnecessarily dragging out the contest. Shapovalov reckoned the referees were far stricter during other matches, but when it came to the 20-time Grand Slam champion, they were lenient about enforcing the rules.

"Every other match that I have played, the pace has been so quick because the refs have been on the clock after every single point," Shapovalov said. "This one, after the first two sets, was like an hour and a half just because he had dragged out so much after every single point. He's given so much time in between sets and all this. It's just dragged out."

"Where is the line? It's just so frustrating as a player" - Denis Shapovalov on Rafael Nadal's toilet break at the end of the 4th set

Denis Shapovalov questioned the duration of Nadal's toilet break at the end of the fourth set

Denis Shapovalov also had a lot to say about the toilet break Rafael Nadal took at the end of the fourth set. Having lost the third and fourth sets, the Spaniard took a medical time-out and followed it up with a toilet break.

Shapovalov questioned how the rules allowed the Spaniard to do that, since he himself was barred from doing the same at the Australian Open last year.

"After the fourth set, [Rafa] went [for a toilet break]. For the same thing last year I wasn't allowed to take a toilet break when I asked for a medical. He had already taken two medicals. He was getting medically evaluated and after that the guy goes and takes a toilet break," Shapovalov said.

Shapovalov said it felt "frustrating" for other players to see how much the Spaniard could get away with during matches.

"Where is the line? It's just so frustrating as a player. You know, you feel like you're not just playing against the player; you're playing against the umpires, you're playing against so much more," Shapovalov said.

Shapovalov blamed the 20-time Slam winner's toilet break for killing all the momentum he had going in his favor after winning two sets on the trot. The Canadian made it clear he did not question the Spaniard's medical time-out, but only the toilet break that followed.

"It's difficult. It was a big break after the fourth set. The momentum just went away. It's much more difficult to play," Shapovalov said. "I'm not arguing over the fact that he had a medical or whatever it was. But how can you get evaluated medically and have a toilet break on the same break and just cause so much delay in the game? It's just not balanced."