A day after a rare unforced error, Marija Cicak back in umpire’s chair for Azarenka vs Keys, with a smile

Azarenka lets Cicak know that she had seen her error from the previous day, much to the amusement of Keys

Marija Cicak at the 2020 Adelaide International WTA Premier tennis tournament Image Credit: Zuma / Panoramic

October 21, 2022

Wrong calls by the linesmen and officials are part and parcel of the sport. After all, officials are human themselves and are, at times, prone to unforced errors just like the players.

On Wednesday, Marija Cicak, one of the most accomplished and respected umpires in the sport, made a big error during the match between Belinda Bencic and Sloane Stephens at the WTA Guadalajara Open.

At 2-2 in the second set (after Stephens had won the first set) with Bencic at break point to go up 3-2, the Swiss hit a forehand close to the line which was called out. Stephens got the ball back and Bencic, who already heard the out call, hit her next shot into the net.

After a challenge, the ball was called in and the point, and thereby the game, was awarded to Bencic, when instead the point should have been replayed. A perplexed Stephens walked up to Cicak wondering why the point was not replayed and was told that she had missed her shot.

https://twitter.com/Svitoflopina/status/1583014857787727872

Fortunately, in the end, that error did not matter as Stephens went on to win the match in straight sets and reach the fourth round.

On Thursday, Cicak was back in the umpire’s chair for the match between former world No 1 Victoria Azarenka and American Madison Keys.

And in good humour, during the coin toss as Marija Cicak explained the rules to the players, Azarenka let her know that she had seen the error from the previous day, much to the amusement of Keys.

Cicak was honest enough to admit she mad e a mistake, saying, “Thank you, that’s a nice way to start. I take that. We all make mistakes”, with a smile, and the match began.

The Croatian-born Cicak was back to her top form in this match with no errors as Azarenka defeated Keys in three sets to advance to the quarter-finals.

Azarenka: Saw your mistake yesterday. It's okay. we all makes mistakes 😂

Madison couldn't stop laughing. #cicak pic.twitter.com/V9gPOI2qmx
— Tennis GIFs 🎾🎥 (@tennis_gifs) October 21, 2022