Stefanos Tsitsipas outed Jack Draper with a telling video on social media after the Brit failed to concede his match point against Felix Auger-Aliassime. Draper came from behind to reach the next round at the Cincinnati Open but was involved in a controversial moment at the very end of the match.
Draper appeared to shank a drop shot that looped in the air, landing on the net cord before trickling over for match point. Auger-Aliassime claimed the ball had made contact with the ground after coming off the frame of Draper’s racket, but the umpire was unmoved.
The Canadian was furious with the decision not to replay the point and repeatedly shouted that Draper ‘shanked it on the floor’ before warning the umpire: “You’re going to get out now and then it’s going to be everywhere. It’s going to look ridiculous. It’s going to be crazy.”
Auger-Aliassime was left unable to challenge the call due to the lack of video review technology in the match. He also described the call as ‘horrendous’ but the umpire maintained that it was the right decision, announcing: “I’m ruling that was a fair shot. Game, set, match Draper.”
Tsitsipas, who was beaten by Draper in the second round of the Cincinnati Open, later took to social media to suggest the point should have been replayed. He posted a video appearing to show the ball hitting the ground before bouncing up and hitting Draper’s racket for a second time.
Draper looked surprised when the umpire called the match in his favour and immediately said that he would be happy to replay the point. The umpire stuck with his original decision, though, with the two players eventually shaking hands after nearly four minutes of deliberation.
In his on-court interview, Draper said: “I was too busy looking at him [Auger-Aliassime]. I didn’t see what happened. I looked at the umpire straight away to see if he called a double bounce or not. As a player, I’m trying to focus on what I’m doing
“I can’t make that call if I’m not 100 per cent. I said, when the supervisor came on, that if it was a double bounce and that he saw it clearly then I would have 100 per cent replayed the point.”
Nick Kyrgios later weighed in on the saga by suggesting that Draper would have known whether the point should have been replayed. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the Aussie said: “Horrible call, but every player knows you know exactly where you hit it. Ridiculous stuff.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk