'Thank god' - Fritz ironically responds to ATP rule change after tech fail

Friday, 16 August 2024 at 01:15

Taylor Fritz continued the controversy over the technological error at the Cincinnati Open. The world No. 12 was disadvantaged due to a failure of the on-court call technology, marking a moment of high tension in his defeat against Brandon Nakashima (No. 49) by 4-6, 6-4, 6-7(4).

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During the first round, the match was in the second set when Nakashima hit a ball that exceeded the court boundaries, but the electronic call did not catch it, leading to an intense rally until the chair umpire called a let and decided to replay the point.

World No. 5 Fritz approached the chair umpire, visibly upset: "Look how far the ball was out," Fritz said.

“I understand that, however, they didn’t stop in time," the umpire explained. "We played 6 or 7 more shots. I mean if you would have stopped the point.”

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The tense moment reached the ATP, which announced that it would review the incident and amend the rules, following another error in Montreal last week: "ATP Officiating Update: After recent technical issues with Live ELC in Montreal and Cincinnati, we have conducted a thorough review of our protocols."

"Going forward, if the Review Official determines during a rally that a ball was out earlier in the point (but was not called by the system), that decision will stand."

The ATP's announcement was met with ironic response from Fritz on social media: "Thank god. If you hit a ball out then you lose the point…. Groundbreaking stuff," he replied, adding a laughing emoji.

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ATP Officiating Update: After recent technical issues with Live ELC in Montreal and Cincinnati, we have conducted a thorough review of our protocols. Going forward, if the Review Official determines during a rally that a ball was out earlier in the point (but was not called by…

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