A tennis umpire stopped a match between Americans Brandon Nakashima and Taylor Fritz in the middle of a rally at Center Court during Tuesday's first round of the Cincinnati Open.
It happened in the second set with Fritz leading 3-2 after Nakashima won the first set. With the game tied at 30-30, Nakashima and Fritz were hitting the ball back and forth when the chair umpire suddenly shouted "Stop! Stop!"
The umpire called for Hawk-Eye on his walkie-talkie to get a better look at a shot that appeared out past the baseline on Fritz's end of the court. Electronic line calling was in place, but the particular shot in question was not called out until six or seven shots later in the rally. The 11th-seeded Fritz came over to complain to the chair umpire as he saw the ball was clearly out by a large margin, but because the match was not stopped, he kept playing. The umpire indicated to Fritz that he could have stopped the point and the officials could have taken a look at the shot then. With the electronic line calling, the umpire was not able to stop the match himself to call the ball out.
Drama at #CincyTennis 👀
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 14, 2024
The umpire stops the point mid-rally between Fritz & Nakashima... pic.twitter.com/00SRdw5NZk
As a result, an announcement was made to the crowd that the point would be replayed due to a "technical error". In other words, "DO OVER!"
Fritz managed to keep his cool, unlike some players who are known for losing their temper. Fritz won the second game of the match, but Nakashima won the tie breaker to advance to the second round with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(7-4) victory.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
