Taylor Fritz’s quarter-final victory over Karen Khachanov on Tuesday left the under-fire line technology system in a troubling state.
When a Fritz forehand landed well inside the baseline, the Swedish umpire Louise Azemar Engzell was forced to stop a point in the fourth set’s opening game on Court One.
The phrase “fault” rather than “out” and the ball’s position suggested that Fritz’s serve was still being tracked rather than a rally, and the situation required to be replayed.
The ball from Fritz’s first serve was still being retrieved when he began lining up his second, according to the tournament’s organizers, who claimed the system had failed to reset.
According to an All England Club statement, “the player’s service motion began while the BBG (ball boy or girl) was still crossing the net, and the system didn’t recognize the point’s beginning.”
The chair umpire ordered that the discussion be replayed, as it happened.
Following a major error in Sonay Kartal’s fourth-round defeat to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the women’s draw, Wimbledon officials earlier this week stated that they were confident of avoiding further issues with the technology.
The new system failed to call out when Kartal’s shot went far behind the baseline.
For the first time this year, a fully automated system has replaced the human-line judges at Wimbledon in a way that matches the Australian Open and US Open.
Other players have raised concerns and glitches about the technology, including British actors Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu.
Fritz won 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7/4), but the controversy did not prevent him from reaching his first Wimbledon semifinal.
It’s a more effective system, they say.
Despite the most recent technological flaw, Fritz defended the line system.
“It occasionally occurs. He said that because I got a first serve out of it, I believe I lost the point in that situation in any case.
“There will be some issues here and there,” he said. Since I’m not going to lie, I still believe it’s much better to have the electronic line calling call the lines rather than the umpires.
I like not having to consider challenging calls in the middle of a discussion, as I previously mentioned earlier in the week. I like that there are no arguments over calls and other issues.
“The ball gets called, and we know that,” according to the statement. It’s a better system, in my opinion.
Khachanov criticized the system’s use this year and expressed disappointment with it.
“Look, I’m more for line umpires, to be honest. We’ve seen a few electronic line calls, but they must be very precise and without any errors. Why is this taking place, he said, is fragile.
“Today, I believe there were a few calls,” he said. I’m not sure whether or not it actually touches the line. It’s a very questionable question.
The machine calls it “as well as out” at one point during the rally. You may be wondering if letting machines do what they want is sometimes frightening.
What are my options? I can debate and be enraged, or I can just keep playing. Not at my disposal. It has already occurred. That’s it, and I have to kind of accept it.
Source: Channels TV
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