Tsitsipas exposes controversial Draper match point: Was It Fair?

Stefanos Tsitsipas has weighed in on the controversy surrounding the match between Jack Draper and Felix Auger-Aliassime. The Greek tennis player shared a revealing video that appears to show the ball hitting Draper’s racket twice, suggesting that the point should have been awarded to the Canadian.

Thursday’s match was undoubtedly the day’s biggest talking point. Draper came from a set down to secure a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory, advancing to the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals. However, his win was marred by a questionable match point, which Tsitsipas later highlighted on social media.

Chair umpire Greg Allensworth is once again at the centre of criticism. Just weeks ago, he was responsible for Denis Shapovalov’s disqualification at the DC Open for shouting at a fan. Although the ATP eventually overturned the decision to strip Shapovalov of his points and prize money, they still issued a fine.

This time, Allensworth made another controversial call following an error, right when Draper was serving for match point. Draper charged the net after Auger-Aliassime returned a low shot, volleying the ball in a strange manner. The ball seemed to take an odd spin and crossed the net. The Canadian assumed the ball had bounced twice on Draper’s side and was stunned to hear that the point—and the match—had been awarded to Draper. Later, Stefanos Tsitsipas posted a video of the moment, apparently showing the ball double bouncing on Draper’s racket.

“You're going to get out now and then it's going to be everywhere. It's going to look ridiculous. It's going to be crazy,” Auger-Aliassime told the chair umpire on the court. "I'm ruling that was a fair shot. Game, set, match Draper,” Allensworth replied.

After the match, Draper explained the situation to the media: "I was too busy looking at him [Auger-Aliassime]. I didn’t see what happened. I looked at the umpire straight away to see if he called a double bounce or not. As a player, I’m trying to focus on what I’m doing.”

"I can’t make that call if I’m not 100 per cent sure. I said, when the supervisor came on, that if it was a double bounce and he saw it clearly, I would have 100 per cent replayed the point."

Later, Nick Kyrgios shared his opinion on social media, commenting on a Tennis TV post: "Horrible call, but every player knows exactly where you hit it. Ridiculous stuff."