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At Wimbledon last month, Damian Steiner reached a career pinnacle when he worked as the chair umpire for a Grand Slam men’s singles final for the first time.
It turned out to be a classic duel, with Novak Djokovic saving two match points and defeating Roger Federer, 7-6 (5), 1-6, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 13-12 (3), in the longest singles final in Wimbledon history.
By all accounts, Steiner, a 44-year-old umpire from Argentina, acquitted himself well during that tense match, but he has since been fired by the ATP Tour, the men’s circuit, which has been his primary employer.