Novak Djokovic is the latest star to comment on the controversial match point in Jack Draper’s victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime at the Cincinnati Open.
The Brit came back from a set down to win 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 against his Canadian opponent, securing his place in the quarter-finals of the competition. However, the victory was overshadowed by controversy.
In what has been described as “the most controversial match point of all time”, Draper hit a drop shot from a shallow angle to surprise Auger-Aliassime. The ball clipped the net before bouncing to the opponent’s side of the court, but replays appeared to show that the ball had bounced before hitting the net.
Auger-Aliassime tried to play the next point, but referee Greg Allensworth ruled it was a fair point and he lost the match. Draper offered to replay the point if a replay showed he had missed the shot, but his appeal fell on deaf ears.
Tennis superstar Djokovic has now commented on the incident and demanded that the sport must use the latest technology to prevent “embarrassing” mishaps.
Stefanos Tsitsipas initially tweeted about the incident: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a shot like that.” Djokovic then replied: “It’s embarrassing that we don’t have video of situations like this on the court.”
“What’s even more ridiculous is that we don’t have a rule that would allow referees to change the original decision based on video review off the field of play!
“Everyone watching on TV will see what happened in the replay, but the players on the pitch are left in the dark and don’t know the outcome. We have Hawkeye for line decisions, we live in the technologically advanced 21st century! Please, dear Tours, make sure this nonsense never happens again!”
Nick Kyrgios also recently commented on the controversy, arguing that Draper knew he had misjudged his shot, although the Briton insisted to Auger-Aliassime that he was “not 100 percent” sure.
The Australian wrote on X: “Mate. Terrible decision but every player knows exactly where you hit hahaha ridiculous stuff.”
After several calls for video replays to be incorporated into events, it remains to be seen whether Draper’s success will spark conversations with the sport’s higher powers or whether the incident will be viewed as an anomaly.