Jannik Sinner was left furious at the umpires during Sunday’s epic French Open final against Jannik Sinner. The showpiece, which broke the record for the longest men’s French Open final, involved a moment of controversy in the final set.
Sinner had previously blown three championship points in the fourth set at 2-1 up, with Alcaraz fighting back to level the game and force a decider. From that point on, the momentum was with the Spanish star, who began to take control of the match.
However, in the sixth game of the fourth set, Sinner was left scratching his head after an Alcaraz shot wasn’t called out by the line judges. His frustration was justified, given replays showed the ball had been out and by some distance, with the TNT Sports commentary team confirming a margin of 31mm between the ball and the sideline.
The unfortunate thing about the incident is that had it been at any of the other three Grand Slam tournaments, the error would’ve been picked up by an electronic line call. The French Open is the last remaining of the slams to opt against using technology, with concerns that its reliability isn’t as strong on clay when compared to grass or hard courts.
It’s claimed the red brick dust can sometimes compromise the accuracy of the electronic system used to determine whether balls are in or out because it’s a ‘live’ surface which can move during the match. Instead, Roland-Garros leave the calls in the hands, or eyes rather, of the line judges, with intervention, if it’s needed, coming from the umpire.
As such, it often leads to players themselves assisting the umpire by conceding points that had wrongly been called out. That was the case earlier on in the Alcaraz vs Sinner contest, when the former instructed the umpire to overturn an out decision off a serve from the Italian.
Reacting to the incident on TNT Sport’s commentary panel, Jim Courier said: “He’s going to call that one good and that is an ace [for Sinner]. Good sportsmanship has been nothing but on display for Carlos.”