Wednesday, August 09, 2000
Ilie booed after not shaking Levy's hand
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MASON — Harel Levy's surprising success continued Tuesday but was overshadowed by his opponent's postmatch actions.
After Levy, a 22-year-old Israeli, beat Andrew Ilie 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, Ilie refused to shake hands at the net. Booed as he began walking off the court, Ilie returned, grabbed a courtside mike and told the crowd, “Please don't boo me. The only reason I didn't shake hands was his fans were clapping at every one of my mistakes. It has nothing to do with the player.”
Said Levy afterward: “It's the first time that's happened to me. It surprised me, because we are (friendly).”
Ilie later said he would not apologize and that he would not behave differently. He credited Levy with being the better player, but said he thought Levy's fans were “over-cheering.”
“And he went a little bit overboard in the second and third sets questioning calls,” Ilie said. “That's it. I would've done the same thing even if I would have won.”
Though playing here for the first time, Levy has a built-in fan club. Cincinnati resident Bobby Carter's son, Elan, lives in Israel and knows Levy, and the elder Carter is friends with several of the Israeli national team coaches. Carter's family and some Jewish friends traveled to Toronto last week when Levy had his best finish, advancing all the way from the qualifier to reach the Tennis Masters Series Canada finals.
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