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Andre Agassi's ex-coach Brad Gilbert has reiterated the need for electronic line calling after an error during a crucial time in the semifinals of the Monte-Carlo Masters between Jannik Sinner and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Gilbert wondered how the umpire missed it and joked that Sinner would be kicking himself for allowing the error to go unchallenged.
Sinner, who was up 3-1, held a break point in the fifth game of the deciding third set and was poised for a double break against Tsitsipas. But the serve by the Greek which was clearly out remained uncalled, allowing play to continue when the score read 40-Advantage.
If the ball had been called out, it would have resulted in a double fault allowing Jannik Sinner to earn the double break that could have changed the course of the match. Stefanos Tsitsipas eventually won the deciding set 6-4, bringing into sharp focus ATP's decision to not implement electronic line calling at clay courts.
Gilbert, who has coached Agassi, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick and Coco Gauff among others, said that there is still time for ATP to implement electronic calling and that the missed double fault should have never happened. Electronic line calling is not used at most clay court tournaments including the French Open.
"I will say again there is time for @atptour to make it happen, why wait till 2025 for electronic line calling, that missed double fault a 3-1 BP just shouldn’t happen, Sin City probably kicking himself he didn't and how did umpire miss it to #disheveled," Gilbert wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The Monte-Carlo Masters, an ATP-1000 event, heralds the beginning of the clay season but has been bedeviled by poor line calling. Russia's Daniil Medvedev vented his frustration on the court and argued with the chair umpire during his match against Gael Monfils following poor line calls that went against him.
Holger Rune also had a similar experience during his quarterfinal match against Jannik Sinner. Rune engaged in a heated discussion with the umpire when the ball that the Italian hit was initially called out but was later ruled to be good.
"It's a tough one to swallow" - Jannik Sinner on umpiring error at Monte-Carlo Masters
Jannik Sinner said that the umpiring error during his loss in the semifinals against Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Monte-Carlo Masters was a tough one to accept as he was playing great tennis during that time in the match.
"It's tough, a tough one to swallow, because you know, I was playing at some point great tennis. Was, you know, yeah, playing well. You know, tactically everything went in the right direction," Sinner, the reigning Australian Open champion, said at his post-match press conference.
But the Italian admitted that everyone can make mistakes and rued that the match went the other way as a result. If the right call had been made, Sinner would have been up 4-1 in the deciding set. The Greek eventually won the set and the match.
"Everyone can make mistakes unfortunately or fortunately. Also I can make mistakes. And it went like this," Sinner said.
