Andre Agassi's ex-coach Brad Gilbert calls for use of technology on clay

Andre Agassi's former tennis coach Brad Gilbert has expressed his disappointment at Hawkeye still not being used in clay tournaments. Due to the absence of Hawkeye, the chair umpires have to step on to the courts to show ball marks continuously, which didn't please Gilbert.

His comments came as Holger Rune handed a defeat to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, becoming only the fourth player to do so this year, at the 2023 Italian Open. The Danish youngster beat the Serb 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 to end his title defense in the quarterfinals of the tournament on Wednesday, May 17.

Swedish chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani was shouted at by both Rune and Djokovic during the match for different reasons.

Rune was first baffled by Lahyani calling a ball 'in' that the player thought was clearly out, as technology showed. On the back of that call, former player and coach Gilbert took to social media to call for the inclusion of Hawkeye on clay.

"So tired [of] seeing umpires get out of chair to look at mark on clay , always about interpretation of the mark, until I see Hawkeye review then I believe the call and they will get the right mark every time, not to mention it is [a] way quicker process," Brad Gilbert tweeted.

So tired 😴 seeing umpires get out of chair 🪑 to look at mark on clay , always about interpretation of the mark, until I see Hawkeye review then I believe the call 📞 and they will get the right mark every time, not to mention it is way quicker process

Replying to another fan who wanted technology to be used on the red dirt, Gilbert wrote:

"More proof on Hawkeye, no need for interpretation of the mark."

@TennisTV More proof on Hawkeye no need for interpretation of the mark

Rune was livid with Lahyani's call, saying:

"This guy’s a joke. It’s always the umpire that makes me look like a bad guy. Always."

In the third set, Djokovic also confronted the Swedish official for issuing the player a time violation warning. Lahyani tried to explain that he had to announce the score in Italian and then in English.

"But what’s the drama of waiting between English and Italian? What, are you acting here or what? Why do you call the score for 20 seconds? Just call the score, for God’s sake," Djokovic yelled.

Lahyani was also called out by Andy Murray for a wrong call during his first-round clash against Fabio Fognini in Rome.

Brad Gilbert reacts to Jannik Sinner not realizing he had won the match

Brad Gilbert has been quite active on Twitter during the 2023 Italian Open. Prior to the drama on Wednesday, a funny incident took place in the third round of the 2023 Italian Open, which also prompted a reaction from Gilbert.

Jannik Sinner defeated Alexander Shevchenko 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-2 to book his place in the quarterfinals. However, upon sealing victory, Sinner did not approach the net to shake hands with his opponent since he was unaware of the score.

The Italian youngster thought that the match was still on and reached for his towel instead. He then realized he had won and headed to the net.

Brad Gilbert took to Twitter to provide his take on the same and wrote:

"That was interesting. Sin City didn’t realize he had won the match, went back to get his towel."

Apart from Andre Agassi, Brad Gilbert also worked with players like Andy Roddick, Andy Murray, and Kei Nishikori.