SI

Taylor Fritz Baffled by Umpire Stopping Play Mid-Point Due to Electronic Line Mistake

Madison Williams

Aug 13, 2024; Cincinnati, OH, USA ; Taylor Fritz of the United States reacts to a point during his match against Brandon Nakashima of the United States on day two of the Cincinnati Open.
Aug 13, 2024; Cincinnati, OH, USA ; Taylor Fritz of the United States reacts to a point during his match against Brandon Nakashima of the United States on day two of the Cincinnati Open. / Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

Taylor Fritz was understandably taken off guard when a chair umpire stopped a point vs. Brandon Nakashima at the Cincinnati Open on Tuesday.

During a 30–30 point in the second set, Nakashima hit the ball out in one of his returns, but the ball was not called out by the electronic line calling or the umpire, so Fritz continued to hit the ball. The rally went on for a few more shots before the umpire ceased play.

In the world of electronic line calling, there's bound to be mistakes. But, with a chair umpire still present at the match, Fritz expected him to at least intervene if the ball was noticeably out.

Fritz went up to the umpire to argue the call, stating that he knew the ball was out but was confused why no one called it out. He told the umpire "I mean, I stopped" when they debated how many shots the opponents hit after the ball went out. The umpire then told him that if Fritz would've stopped the point, they could've reviewed it then and called the ball out. It was the continuing of play that made the situation complicated.

"Don't tell me I need to stop the point when we have electronic line calling," Fritz said while him and the umpire continued to argue. "But, why don't you stop it? You're in the chair, you saw that ball. It was like a foot out."

Fritz's pleas didn't work as they had to replay the point. The top-ranked American man ended up winning the replay and the second set. However, Nakashima went on to win the first-round match 6–4, 4–6, 7–6.

After the match, Fritz responded to the video on Twitter, reestablishing his opinion.

"Imagine telling me I needed to stop the point when we have literal Hawkeye electronic line calling," Fritz said. "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."

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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.

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