"One of the biggest robberies in the history of the sport" - Steven Diez furious after loss in Houston qualifiers

Steven Diez won the qualifying match against Brouwer in Houston but it only lasted a few seconds as the umpire changed the call turning the match upside down.

It left the Canadian furious about what had happened especially since he went on to lose the match. It was a sunny day in Houston, Texas with Gijs Brouwer and Steven Diez battling it out for a spot in the main draw of the ATP 250 event. The Canadian was firmly up a set with match points in hand. After two hours of play, the match seemingly ended when Diez hit a return winner.

The umpire called 'game set match' however upon protest from the Dutch player claiming he missed the serve the umpire gets up and checks the mark and changes his decision. By regulation, the match should have been over as the umpire called the match however it resumed with the Canadian in disbelief. Momentum swung, he lost the next two games losing the set 7-5 with the Dutch player winning the final one 6-2 as well

Contacted by media afterward, Diez explained his disbelief:

"When I saw the referee get off the chair I couldn't believe it. I see him point the ball one meter to the right of the real mark, the line umpire corrects him and tells him what the real sign is, but he insists it is the other. It's been a day and I still don't understand how this can happen at this level, in the last round of an ATP 250 qualifier."

Diez further said:

"It is real barbarism which, moreover, coincides with a match point. Then we stop the game for 7-8 minutes until the supervisor arrives, but obviously, the supervisor wasn't on the court, so he has to believe the chair referee's version. A version that the chair referee invents. The supervisor tells me that he cannot do anything, although later in private he told me that he believed more in my version than that of the chair referee."

Diez simply to resume playing but he was mentally out of it and Brouwer cruised:

"I assure you that after removing the cuffs, releasing the tension and about to shake hands with my opponent, it is very difficult to get back into the game. The next two games were terrible, I tried everything to continue, but I also got dizzy. I would not wish anyone what happened to me. I've seen so many mistakes, but never like those made in a match. I have no doubt that the referee tried to do his job as best he could, but he was not up to the task. It all happened at exactly the right time for one of the biggest robberies I've ever seen in the history of the sport. I have seen chair umpires make serious mistakes, but this man made several mistakes in a row on the same spot."