Multiple Grand Slam champion Chris Evert believes the French Open should implement a hawk-eye system in line with other tournaments following a controversial call made during one of the women’s semi-final matches.
The drama unfolded in the closing stages of Barbora Krejcikova’s marathon clash with Maria Sakkari. Leading the final set 8-7, the Czech thought she had won when a shot from Sakkari appeared to have drifted beyond the baseline. However, the umpire came to inspect the marking and ruled the ball to be in. Something which was then contradicted by Hawk-Eye live which is used by television networks.
Amid the drama Krejcikova managed to hold her nerve to seal a place in her first ever major final. Although if she had lost, the match official would have found himself under heavy criticism for what former world No.1 Andy Murray described on Twitter as a ‘brutal error.’
“Maybe this will be a lesson for the tournament to get Hawk-Eye now like they do at the three other Grand Slams,” Evert told Eurosport’s The Cube.
“During the whole tournament there have been some big points with bad lines calls. It’s not just this one time. That’s why I feel this system isn’t working right now.”
Krejcikova, who is currently ranked 33rd in the world, was informed of the controversy during her press conference. She said the challenge for her was trying to regroup after thinking she had won the match.
“No Hawk-Eye on clay, it’s difficult. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn’t. I don’t know. It’s very difficult,” she commented.
“At that moment I was just, like, Well, it’s out, but what can you do? The chair umpire, he has seen it as in. What can I do? I cannot do anything about it. I cannot call anyone, change his decision.”
Three-time French Open champion Mats Wilander went as far as suggesting that Roland Garros should improve their officiating standards. In a direct jibe at the umpire on Eurosport he said ‘how do you miss a mark like that which is supposedly 19 millimetres out?’
Due to the nature of clay the French Open currently doesn’t need to rely on the use of electronic line-calling. Furthermore, Hawk-Eye live has not been given approval for use on the surface because the accuracy of their calls needs further verification. At present the only system that has been given the green light for use is Foxtenn’s Real Bounce which was used during the Madrid Open.
Although in Madrid there were some concerns over its accuracy among players, according to Sakkari.
“We saw in Madrid that the Hawk-Eye (Foxtenn) they had there was not accurate at all. I spoke with other players. They said the same,” she told reporters on Thursday.
“If it’s accurate, then yes (use it on clay). If it’s not accurate, then there’s no point.”
Tournament director Guy Forget recently addressed the topic of electronic line calling where he stressed the importance of maintaining the ‘human element.’ The technology is seen by some as a replacement for linespeople who use their role as a step towards being an umpire.
“The bottom line, before doing anything new, is that it’s people’s jobs that we’re talking about,” he told ESPN. “It’s not just ‘machine versus a man’s eye.’ We have a very good way of teaching from a young age, a chair umpire and linesman. In our country, we have some of the best umpires and one of the reasons is that this is so consistent.”
The clay surface during a match can change due to the weather. For example, if it is windy the top layer in blown and therefore the ball markings explodes. Impacting how a computer monitors it. It is for reasons such as these why the use of electronic line calling remains a work in progress when it comes to the dirt.
