"Horrible" - Serena Williams' ex-coach lashes out at chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani over controversial call in Dan Evans-Fabio Fognini Italian Open 1R

Serena Williams' former coach, Rennae Stubbs, recently voiced her thoughts over chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani's incorrect line call in the Dan Evans vs Fabio Fognini first-round match. Stubbs expressed her disappointment about the incident on X (formerly Twitter).

The controversy erupted in the third set when Evans returned the Italian's serve as the Brit provided a slight elevation to the ball. It was looking as if the Italian had a chance to save the point; however, he hit the ball out. Even though the ball landed out, umpire Lahyani was sure that the ball had landed inside. Moreover, Evans tried his best to clarify the situation in front of Lahyani, but the umpire gifted the point to the Italian.

Evans was visibily upset, and the video replay after the decision confirmed that the ball had landed out. Rennae Stubbs recently backed Evans in light of the controversy. The 53-year-old seemed unconvinced by the decision and agreed that the ball fell outside. She shared her thoughts through her X handle.

"Leyhani is a side show! And the way he ran into Dan is, horrible call ! i can’t wait to finally have everywhere! We can all see how clearly out this ball was."

The Italian ultimately clinched the match 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

Taylor Fritz knocked out Fabio Fognini in the second round of the event

Even though the former World No. 9 counted on his luck in the first round of the tournament, he couldn't get past Taylor Fritz. The American defeated Fognini 6-3, 6-4 on Friday and clinched a spot in the third round of the tournament.

The World No. 13 received a bye in the first round and will face compatriot Sebastian Korda next. Fritz had reached the semi-final of the Madrid Open.

Korda, meanwhile, battled his way into the third round of the Italian Open at Foro Italico, defeating Flavio Cobolli 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-4. In their only meeting, Fritz had beaten Korda in the fourth round of the 2022 Monte Carlo Masters.