"Ridiculous"- Daniil Medvedev, Denis Shapovalov, others hit out at chair umpire over controversial decision during Taylor Fritz's Cincinnati Open exit
Daniil Medvedev, Denis Shapovalov, and several other tennis players were left fuming after a controversial call went against Taylor Fritz during his Cincinnati Open match. The American’s colleagues called out the chair umpire over his seemingly “ridiculous” assessment of the situation.
Fritz was defending his quarterfinal appearance at the 2024 Cincinnati Open, having made the last eight in the past two editions. However, his campaign lasted just three sets this time around. On Tuesday, August 13, Taylor Fritz lost a tightly contested match against compatriot Brandon Nakashima, who came up trumps in the final-set tiebreak 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (4).
During Nakashima’s serve at 3-2 (30-30) in the second set, a Hawkeye malfunction resulted in no call despite one of his forehand shots going long. Fritz was visibly perplexed by the system’s silence but continued playing.
Moments later, a late “stop, stop” call by the Hawkeye halted play. In the video replay, the system showed the ball landing considerably outside the baseline, which infuriated Taylor Fritz. Instead of awarding him the point, though, chair umpire Greg Allensworth called “let” and asked the players to replay the point, arguing that the Hawkeye made a late call.
"They didn’t stop it in time. We played 6-7 more shots. If you would’ve stopped the point, we could’ve looked at it," he told the American.
Daniil Medvedev, Denis Shapovalov, Thanasi Kokkinakis, former Wimbledon mixed-doubles champion Nicole Melichar-Martinez, and several other players rallied behind Taylor Fritz, lashing out at the chair umpire for the controversial decision.
"'If you would have stopped the point.' I can’t anymore," Denis Shapovalov wrote on X, expressing his surprise at the umpire’s comments.
"Lack of common sense is crazy," Thanasi Kokkinakis wrote.
"I don’t care how they come to this conclusion. If the ball is out, it’s out. The point should NOT be replayed," Melichar-Martinez remarked.
"So what’s the point of Hawkeye yelling out stop, stop if the point’s going to be replayed… it may as well just let the point finish if it no longer matters to the umpire that a ball was out a few shots ago. Dumbest ruling I’ve seen," Australian tennis player Ellen Perez wrote on Instagram.
Daniil Medvedev, too, was shocked by Allensworth’s decision to replay the point.
"Ridiculous decision.. ball is out, point is over, point to Fritz. How was this not the outcome?" he wrote.
"Ball was out why are we replaying the point," American tennis player Alex Michelsen questioned.
"Don't tell me I need to stop" – Taylor Fritz blasts chair umpire after controversial call in Cincinnati Open exit
Just like his colleagues, Taylor Fritz, too, was displeased by the chair umpire’s call during his Cincinnati Open match. The American did not appreciate Allensworth pointing fingers at him over his supposed delay in stopping the point when the Hawkeye was in play.
"Okay no wait, no no no no. Don't tell me that I need to stop the point when we have electronic line calling," the 26-year-old said during the heated exchange.
"I mean yeah if we didn't have electronic line calling, I stop. The ball was so far out," he added.
Questioning the chair umpire, Fritz said:
“Why don't you stop it? You're in the chair. You saw that ball; it was like a foot out."
While Taylor Fritz eventually won the second set, he was outfoxed by Nakashima in the final moments of the match. This was his second straight loss to a fellow American. At last week’s Canadian Open, he was seen off by Sebastian Korda in the second round.