French Open: 'Hawkeye not 100% accurate' - Forget on umpire controversy over Barbora Krejcikova match point

Updated 11/06/2021 at 14:04 GMT

Unheralded Czech player Barbora Krejcikova will take on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Saturday's showpiece after another brilliant performance on the big stage. Krejcikova held her nerve in dramatic fashion after having to win the match twice due to a shocking overrule from the umpire. Roland Garros tournament director Guy Forget has spoken to Eurosport about the controversy and Hawkeye.

'Hawkeye not 100% accurate' - Umpire controversy over match point 'complicated' - Forget

Barbora Krejcikova eventually won her French Open semi-final against Maria Sakkari in three marathon sets, 7-5 4-6 9-7, after she had to close out the match twice due to a howler from the umpire.

The Czech player, who prior to this tournament had never reached a Grand Slam final, like her opponent, will now take on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova after a match which lasted three hours and 18 minutes.

British tennis legend Andy Murray was quick to react on social media after the "brutal" mistake from the umpire denied Krejcikova victory first time round with a dodgy line call and Roland Garros tournament director Guy Forget has now had his say with Eurosport.

Tennis

Murray will not have surgery on ankle injury, return date unknown

15/04/2024 at 20:14

There was incredible drama as everyone in the stadium thought the match had been won - but thankfully for Krejcikova and for justice being done, she was able to close it out at the second attempt shortly afterwards.

To put it simply: the initial line call was 'out', the umpire overruled to say it was 'in', then Hawkeye (which is not used at Roland Garros) proved it was indeed out after all. But Forget makes the point that, with visible marks on the red clay after shots, he cannot be sure that Hawkeye would actually help the situation in Paris.

'No way!' - Krejcikova has to win match TWICE after huge umpire blunder

"It’s a complicated story because I’ve talked to the referee, I’ve talked to the umpires, and apparently there’s a difference between Hawk-Eye and the actual mark on the court," Forget explained to Eurosport on the day it was announced that Discovery had signed a new long-term deal with the FFT.

It’s a long debate we’ve had before – the image Hawk-Eye shows and the mark that actually shows on the court can actually be different. If the ball touches the line and on Hawk-Eye it looks out should we show it on TV while the system is not 100% accurate?

"Of course, you cannot talk to a machine, but you can talk to a chair umpire, and I think that’s the whole debate we have today – on hard courts no issue, on grass no issue – clay, if you have a 220kmh serve and the mark is long but the impact is in fact a lot smaller, so that’s how this whole process started.

"We liked it and we were laughing when John McEnroe was yelling at the line judge, and that’s part of the show as well – lose that, and are we losing something important in the game?"

Krejcikova said she "could not believe it" when she was asked about the decision in the Eurosport Cube after the match.

'I couldn't believe it' - Krejcikova on having to win match twice due to umpire blunder

Eurosport's Evert gave her reaction: "I was thinking that maybe they will get Hawk-Eye for this tournament like they do the other Grand Slams – I just felt so bad for her.

I was horrified when they showed the mark was out after the umpire had called it in, and I was thinking she might not win the match even though she has won the match.

"But talk about emotion, we’re so thrilled for Krejcikova. By the same token, there is a sadness for Sakkari because they both played their hearts out.

"During the whole tournament there was some big points with some bad line calls, it’s not just this one time so that’s why I feel the system isn’t working right now."

Sakkari almost tried too hard in the opening set and Krejcikova capitalised on her opponent's mistakes. The Greek roared back to win the second and was a break up in the third, only for Krejcikova to respond once again and take the final set 9-7.

'I was horrified!' - Reaction as umpire wrongly denies Krejcikova victory on match point

For Sakkari it was a hugely disappointing end to an inspired showing at Roland Garros - particularly after she had recovered so impressively from losing the opening set and had looked set to kick on and win the match.

Sakkari found her way back into the contest in the second set and managed to balance her big hitting with a bit more patience from the back of the court, even when she faced a few obstacles.

The 17th seed was left furious midway through the crucial second set with a fan, who she felt deliberately shouted out mid-point. The Greek player told the umpire that she had mentioned this issue to him already in the first set and displayed her unhappiness with the situation after planting a forehand into the net to squander a break point at 4-2 up.

'Screaming at me!' - Sakkari upset at fan shouting out mid-point

"Someone is screaming at me!" Sakkari protested to the umpire in a fairly lengthy exchange before she had to regain her focus once more en route to winning the second set and levelling up the match.

Krejcikova took a very long break at the end of the second set which infuriated her opponent and even prompted boos upon her return from the fans on Court Philippe Chatrier.

'Absolute nonsense' - Fans boo as Krejcikova takes very long break

But Sakkari kept her composure impressively and proceeded to capitalise on a few mistakes, only to find herself losing out in heartbreaking fashion as Krejcikova edged a tense and thrilling finale.

- - -

Watch all the action from the 2021 French Open live on Eurosport, eurosport.co.uk and the Eurosport app with 13-time champion Nadal eyeing a remarkable 14th title and the women's draw wide open at Roland Garros in Paris.

Tennis

‘Unbelievable fighter’ Murray can ‘go out on top’ at Olympics - Wilander

05/04/2024 at 13:00

ATP Monte Carlo

When is the Monte Carlo Masters? Are Djokovic and Nadal playing?

03/04/2024 at 09:07

ATP Monte Carlo

Murray confirms Monte-Carlo and Munich absence with ankle injury

29/03/2024 at 15:41

Join 3M+ users on app

Stay up to date with the latest news, results and live sports

Download

Scan me