PARIS (Reuters) – Cameron Norrie said video replays should be used to help umpires make the right call on dubious points after he got away with a double bounce in Wednesday’s second round victory over Lucas Pouille at the French Open.
France’s Pouille thought he had won a point in the third set after a deft drop shot, but umpire Eva Asderaki failed to see the ball bounce twice, as Norrie won the point amid boos from the home crowd.
Pouille said Norrie was under no obligation to concede the point as players are sometimes unsure if the ball bounces twice. But he added that the umpire should have had the option to check the replay, a view shared by Norrie.
“I think that would be great… We have the technology to do it. I don’t know why we’re not doing it in all aspects,” Norrie told reporters after he beat Pouille 6-1 6-3 6-3.
“Sometimes tournaments where they have Hawkeye (technology) for the TV and then for the match they don’t use it… I think we should be using it.
“We all make mistakes, the umpires make mistakes. I think he’s right. It was just one of those calls, a tough call in the moment. From the replay, for me, it looks like she got it wrong.”
Pouille also said a lack of accountability for umpires who make mistakes was frustrating, adding that players should not be fined for minor offences either.
“You break your racquet. Is it worth $15,000 (fine)? But for an umpire there’s no consequences, it’s OK,” he added.
“She made a mistake, maybe she changed a match. It’s OK, next day she’s going to be on the chair no matter what.
“It’s OK. We all do mistakes… We are not always right, but at the end you have to understand that we’re not robots, like they are not. For me the double bounce with all the cameras there is on court, it should be easy to check.”
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
