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Taylor Fritz Blasts Umpire "That's The Craziest Thing I've Ever Seen"

Watch Taylor Fritz argue with an umpire at the Cincinnati Open.

Pat Benson

Taylor Fritz argued with an umpire at the Cincinnati Open.
Taylor Fritz argued with an umpire at the Cincinnati Open. / Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

The weather at the Cincinnati Open is hot, and so is Brandon Nakashima. On the heels of defeating Tommy Paul last week in Montreal, the 23-year-old beat Taylor Fritz last night in the Cincinnati Open: 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (4).

While Nakashima's rise should be the main story from the three-set battle, the drama between Fritz and the umpire is what grabbed the most headlines.

In the middle of the second set (which Fritz won), the umpire stops the point mid-rally. Fritz immediately walked over to the umpire and started pleading his case.

Fritz returned a serve that was more than a foot out, looked at the umpire, and continued playing. A few moments later, the rally was called to a stop. Fans can watch the heated exchange in the Tennis TV video below.

Fritz called the bizarre call "the craziest thing I've ever seen." This is just the latest example of players clashing with umpires. It is what led Coco Gauff to call for a VAR system similar to soccer.

Despite his frustrations with the umpire, Fritz addressed the issue on social media after the match. He joked, "Imagine telling me I needed to stop the point when we have literal Hawkeye electronic line calling (crying laughing emoji)."

Fritz added, "Side note- I don't think this changes anything in the match considering I won the point replay, so don't take this as an excuse… just pointing out an insane call."

Now that Fritz is out of the Cincinnati Open, he will turn his sights to the US Open in New York City. Meanwhile, Nakashima will face Arthur Fills in the Round of 32 on Thursday in Cincinnati. Tennis fans can follow Sports Illustrated's Serve on SI for all the most important news from the sport and beyond.

Further Reading: Ons Jabeur has withdrawn from the Cincinnati Open because of a shoulder injury.

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Pat Benson

PAT BENSON

Pat Benson covers the sneaker industry for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Previously, he has reported on the NBA, authored "Kobe Bryant's Sneaker History (1996-2020)," and interviewed some of the biggest names in the sports world. You can email him at 1989patbenson@gmail.com.

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