“It’s hard to swallow” – Sinner on line-call controversy
The Italian, who was eliminated in the semi-finals in Monte-Carlo, was on the wrong end of an umpiring error that would likely have changed the outcome of the match
Antoine Couvercelle / Panoramic
It’s a topic that has been on the table since the beginning of the week in Monte-Carlo. After the debacle surrounding Daniil Medvedev’s matches a new controversy arose in the first semi-final of the day in Monaco.
Jannik Sinner, who lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas (6-4, 3-6, 6-4), had the match in his hands in the third set. He was leading 3-1 and had the chance to move a double break up on the Greek’s serve. Tsitsipas then committed an obvious double-fault, confirmed by the hawk-eye visible to the spectators in front of their screens, but neither the linesman nor the chair umpire, Aurélie Tourte, judged the ball to be a fault. The game was eventually won by the Greek who kept his serve and won the match.
In a press conference, Sinner reflected on the episode, which was, without a doubt, the turning point of the match.
“It’s hard, it’s hard to swallow, because I was playing very good tennis.
“I was playing well, tactically, everything was going in the right direction. Everyone can make mistakes, unfortunately or fortunately.
“You know, I can make mistakes too. And that’s what happened,” he said in his post-match press conference.
Sinner then drew a link between this episode and his cramps in his right thigh, which occurred a few minutes later.
“It’s a very likely consequence of what happened, because it also affects the nervous side of the brain (smile), and then, it’s not easy to play.
“Still, I did my best. Stefanos raised the level, but when the momentum changes, that’s the way it is. That’s the most fun part of tennis.”
TSITSIPAS ALSO calls FOR ELECTRONIC line calling on clay, SCHEDULED FOR 2025
From next year, electronic line calling is set to be implemented at clay-court tournaments, which will signal in-match fouls in order to improve the accuracy of refereeing, as is already the case in most other tournaments on the ATP tour.
Tsitsipas – the benefactor of the erroneous call today – also revealed he is delighted with the introduction of this innovation, especially on clay.
“There will be less controversy, that’s for sure,” he said.
“This will allow the game to be cleaner and avoid mistakes and temper tantrums like the ones we saw earlier this week on Centre Court.
“Tennis deserves to be dramatic, but I think it should be done on the tennis court with performances rather than swearing and shouting. It’s not a nice side of the sport,” he said.
Others are less diplomatic on the issue, such as Brad Gilbert coach of Coco Gauff, who is calling for electronic refereeing now.
“Why wait until 2025 for electronic line calling, that missed double fault at 3-1 just shouldn’t happen. How could the referee have missed it at 3-1 GP?” he wrote on social medai.
A sentiment shared by all, it seems.
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