Pierre Hugues Herbert left furious after umpire rules against him in contentious line call: "I’ll never speak to you again. You don’t even imagine"

Drama occurred in the contest between Pierre Hugues Herbert and Lorenzo Sonego last night in opening round action at the French Open. It ended past midnight in disappointment for the home crowd with the Italian winning 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 in just over four hours. The titanic clash was overshadowed by an angry outburst by Herbert who shared his dismay over a line call made by the umpire.

With no electronic line calling system in place at Roland Garros, it is the only Grand Slam not to use it. Very few tournaments can be seen without this technology in place at whatever level on the ATP or WTA Tour. Organisers and tournaments opting for a more reliable method of checking whether the ball is in ot out, ditching the traditional line judges.

On clay, it is common for the chair umpire to come off his seat and wander over to a certain spot on the court to see if the marking of a ball is touching the line or not. It has thrown up some memorable scenes in the past where players have disagreed with the decision and furiously stated their case.

The latest one was Herbert, who was seething with what he thought was a ball that landed out. The umpire had a differing view.

The match went to a crucial fifth set with the tension skyrocketing. The breakthrough could have been pivotal, and it became a bit too much for Herbert. While facing a break point at 0-1, the umpire clambered down from his perched position after Herbert challenged a call he though was out.

The umpire disagreed, and Herbert went ballistic. He walked around shouting 'NO' in utter disbelief. “You had the wrong mark anyways, it was on the line. No! You’re gonna see it," he stated.

As the umpire wandered back to his chair, Hubert confronted him as the decision sunk in. "Look at me in the eyes. You’re gonna see it. It’s gonna be out. And you’re gonna be really, if you don’t say sorry after that one, I’ll never speak to you again. You don’t even imagine.”

Sonego broke the serve shortly after as the Frenchman, who had steam coming out of his ears, was left with a lot of work to do. As Sonego attempted to serve it out, Herbert broke the serve to keep his chances afloat for just one game ahead of the former world number 21 breaking back to win the match and book his spot in the second round. Either Tommy Paul or Rinky Hijikata will be his next test.