"You were robbed" - Felix Auger-Aliassime gets support from American rapper Pusha T after controversial Cincinnati Open loss to Jack Draper
American rapper Pusha T has extended his support to Felix Auger-Aliassime after the latter was stripped of victory following the umpire's decision in his match against Jack Draper at the 2024 Cincinnati Open. Draper tried to score a volley but the ball seemed to hit the floor before crossing the net, which should have resulted in Auger-Aliassime getting a point.
Felix Auger-Aliassime, who reached a career-high singles ranking of no. 6 in 2022, entered the Lindner Family Tennis Center for the 2024 Cincinnati Open shortly after his mixed doubles bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He went up against British player Jack Draper in the third round, looking to secure a berth in the quarterfinals. But things took an unexpected turn when controversy struck on match point.
Draper tried to hit a volley on his second match point but the ball seemingly touched the floor before crossing the net. The umpire announced "Game, set, match Draper", followed by Draper's comment:
"If there was a replay, I would replay it (because) I don't know (if it bounced)" (via Tennis TV on X)
Baffled at the decision, Felix Auger-Aliassime approached the umpire, Greg Allensworth, to contest the call as he was left aggrieved by the decision.
"That's horrendous, what you just did," Auger-Aliassime told the chair umpire.
The supervisor was also called onto the court, but the point went in Jack Draper's favor (5-7, 6-4, 6-4) following the umpire's inability to view a replay and overturn his decision.
American rapper Pusha T lauded the Canadian for sporting great composure in a match where he was 'robbed' of the win.
"Yes @felixtennis you were robbed…great way to keep your composure. A bad call can be innocent, but lying and not being accountable for a missed shot knowing the world is going to replay this is a huge character flaw. #DoBetter."
Novak Djokovic demands video replays after Felix Auger-Aliassime's controversial loss
Novak Djokovic, fresh off his maiden Olympic gold, addressed the unavailability of replays in such situations. He also expressed disappointment over the rule which doesn't allow chair umpires to reverse the original call.
"It’s embarrassing that we don’t have video replay of these kind of situations on the court. What’s even more ridiculous is that we don’t have the rule in place that would allow chair umpires to change the original call based on the video review that happens off the court!"
He further shared how fans can watch the outcome on TV, yet the players are kept in the 'dark' on the tennis court.
"Everyone who watches TV sees what happened on the replay, yet the players on the court are kept in “dark” not knowing what’s the outcome," he added.
In the quarterfinals, Jack Draper faced Danish player, Holger Rune, but fell to a 4-6, 2-6 defeat.