The Canadian Open is underway with a new extended schedule format, with the finals set to be played on Thursday, August 7. There have already been plenty of memorable moments in both Montreal and Toronto – from Eugenie Bouchard’s retirement to Frances Tiafoe’s comeback against Yosuke Watanuki, after which he thanked chair umpire Fergus Murphy for not “getting him out” when he could have slapped Tiafoe with a penalty at a crucial moment.
And it’s not the first time Murphy has found himself in the spotlight during one of Tiafoe’s matches in Canada. Two years ago, the umpire overturned a controversial call in the middle of a tiebreak between Tiafoe and Milos Raonic. The match was stopped while Murphy and the supervisor explained the decision.
It meant Tiafoe won the set, but former world No. 3 and home favourite Raonic had the last laugh as he went on to win 6-7 7-6 6-3. The former Wimbledon finalist then hit out at the officials, claiming they weren’t being “completely honest”.
Tiafoe had set point at 13-12 in the first set tiebreak when he chased down a ball and returned it, hitting a winner, but he touched the net. Murphy called it as a touch but reversed his decision within seconds and announced it was game and first set to Tiafoe.
Both players seemed confused and marched up to the chair. “That was a winner,” Murphy told Raonic. Tiafoe interjected, but the umpire tried to calm both men down so he could explain the rule.
“Frances, wait a minute, it’s complicated. Frances, just let me explain. I know the answer,” Murphy said.
“He [Tiafoe] hit this section of the net. This section of the net doesn’t count as a touch so he wins the point. Only after the singles post, Milos. He touched the net, but this touching of the net doesn’t count.”
Raonic protested: “But the net is the net. He’s saying this doesn’t count as the net. Please can I ask the supervisor if this counts? I want to ask.”
Supervisor Gerry Armstrong took to the court, and Murphy explained the situation. “That’s a rules question. That’s not a judgment, Milos, that’s a rules question,” the umpire added.
Armstrong confirmed that, because Tiafoe hit the net outside of the singles stick, it wasn’t his fault that he ran into a permanent fixture, and the point was legit.
Boos and jeers rang out through the stadium when both players finally returned to their benches. Murphy called the score again, confirming that Tiafoe had won the set.
Raonic, who was ranked down at No. 545 at the time, stormed back to win the match and cause a huge upset against the ninth seed. During his post-match interview, he suggested the officials hadn’t been truthful during the incident.
“I don’t have faith that they were being completely honest, but it is what it is,” he said. “I think they just handled it badly. Whatever the rule (was), I just don’t think it was handled (well).”
In a statement, tournament referee Tony Cho said: “Tiafoe touched the area between the singles stick and net post. This area is considered a permanent fixture, so not part of the net.”
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Content Source: www.express.co.uk