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Dramatic scenes unfolded at the 2024 Estoril Open in Portugal on April 5, during the quarterfinal match between home favorite Nuno Borges and Cristian Garin.
Garin looked quite comfortable on the clay court at the Estoril Open. He quickly romped past Borges in the opening set 6-2 to gain the decisive advantage in the contest. The Portuguese No. 1 regained his confidence in the second set and was going toe-to-toe with the Chilean.
Nuno Borges was set to strike first in the second set during Garin's service game at 2-3. The Chilean was serving to save a breakpoint, and midway through the rally, someone from the crowd shouted "out" on a shot from Garin that landed on the baseline. Borges briefly paused before returning the ball and Garin then hit the ball wide in the alley.
Confusion ensued as the Chilean approached the chair umpire, Christian Rask, to complain about the hindrance. After a heated discussion, Rask awarded the point to Garin instead of allowing a replay. Borges objected to the umpire's decision and requested to talk to the supervisor.
After the supervisor arrived on the court, Borges explained to him and Rask that an official did not call Garin's initial shot out; someone from the crowd did. The Chilean missed his shot in the alley, and the linesperson called that shot wide.
Borges was confused as to why Rask had awarded the point to Garin, who did not wade into whether his second shot had landed out the sideline and went along with the umpire's call. Eventually, Rask's initial decision stood, and Garin went on to win that service game.
You can watch the entire incident below:
Cristian Garin won the second set in a tie-breaker and knocked out Nuno Borges 6-2, 7-6(3) in two hours and 11 minutes. After the match point rally, Garin drew widespread boos from the home crowd, upset over the controversial call. After shaking hands with Garin, Borges had another testy exchange with Rask.
Cristian Garin to face Hubert Hurkacz in Estoril Open 2024 SF
Cristian Garin will continue his journey at the 2024 Estoril Open against the No. 2 seed Hubert Hurkacz in the semifinal on April 6. This will be the second meeting between the two on the ATP Tour. Garin won their previous encounter in straight sets at the 2018 Wimbledon Championships.
The Chilean, currently ranked World No. 112, came to the Estoril Open with only one tour-level win this season. After struggling on the hard court, Garin found his groove on clay and defeated Jurij Rodionov, No. 5 seed Arthur Fils, and Nuno Borges en route to the semifinal.
Meanwhile, Hubert Hurkacz has been in excellent form in Estoril and is yet to drop a set. He defeated Jan Choinski and Pablo Llamas Ruiz to reach the last four. In the other two semifinal spots, defending champion and top seed Casper Ruud, Marton Fucsovics, Richard Gasquet, and Pedro Martinez are in contention.
