Tennis ace Novak Djokovic has waded into the debate over Jack Draper’s contentious match point against Felix Auger-Aliassime at the Cincinnati Open.
The British youngster staged a stunning comeback to triumph 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, and sail into the quarter-finals. But the victory is now mired in dispute.
Labelled as potentially ‘the most controversial match point ever’, Draper executed a sneaky drop shot that grazed the net before landing on Auger-Aliassime’s side. However, replays suggested the ball might have bounced before reaching the net.
(Image: (Image: Getty))
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Auger-Aliassime was gearing up for the next rally when umpire Greg Allensworth declared it a legitimate point, sealing his defeat. Draper, showing sportsmanship, was willing to replay the point after suspecting a fluke, but his offer was ignored.
The incident sent shockwaves through the sport. Now, Djokovic has chimed in, advocating for tennis to fully adopt technological advancements to avoid such ’embarrassing’ blunders in the future, reports the Express.
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Stefanos Tsitsipas initially took to Twitter to express his disbelief: “I don’t think I have ever seen a shot like this.” To which Djokovic responded with a call to action: “It’s embarrassing that we don’t have video replay of these kind of situations on the court.
“What’s even more ridiculous is that we don’t have the rule in place that would allow chair umpires to change the original call based on the video review that happens off the court!
“Everyone who watches TV sees what happened on the replay, yet the players on the court are kept in ‘dark’ not knowing what’s the outcome.
“We have Hawkeye for line calls, we live in the technologically advanced 21st century! Please, respective Tours, make sure this nonsense never happens again!
Nick Kyrgios has entered the debate as well, arguing on X that Draper was aware he had mussed his shot despite the Brit maintaining to Auger-Aliassime that he was ‘not 100%’ certain. The Aussie opined: “Mate. Horrible call, but every player knows exactly where you hit it hahaha ridiculous stuff.”
Following numerous appeals for video replays to be incorporated into tournaments, it’ll be interesting to see if Draper’s incident stirs higher level discussions or will be dismissed as a one-off event.