Felix Auger-Aliassime was defeated by Jack Draper at the Cincinnati Open on Friday evening in dramatic fashion as controversy hit the game on match point, leaving the Canadian stunned.
The decisive moment occurred when Draper, on his second match point, attempted to secure the victory with a volley. However, the ball struck the ground before bouncing back to Draper’s racquet and crossing the net, resulting in what should have been ruled a double bounce and a point awarded to Auger-Aliassime.
Contrary to expectations, the chair umpire awarded the point and the match to Draper.
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The decisive moment occurred when Draper, on his second match point, attempted to secure the victory with a volley. However, the ball struck the ground before bouncing back to Draper’s racquet and crossing the net, resulting in what should have been ruled a double bounce and a point awarded to Auger-Aliassime.
Contrary to expectations, the chair umpire awarded the point and the match to Draper.
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Even though the umpire said “Game, set, match Draper”, the Briton could be heard saying “if there was a replay, I would replay it (because) I don’t know (if it bounced)”.
Auger-Aliassime, visibly perplexed, immediately approached the chair to contest the call. Subsequently the tournament supervisor was summoned to the court.
“That’s horrendous, what you just did,” Auger-Aliassime told the chair umpire.
It led to a long delay before a decision could be reached, and ultimately the tournament supervisor supported the chair umpire’s ruling.
The victory took Draper to the quarterfinal, where he will face Holger Rune.
