Coco Gauff, who faced an early exit from the Cincinnati Open, is currently preparing for her title defense at the 2024 US Open.
Novak Djokovic and Feliciano Lopez weigh in on Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Jack Draper controversy at the Cincinnati Open
Novak Djokovic gave his opinion on a controversial match point during Jack Draper’s 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime in the third round at the Cincinnati Open.
Draper hit a half-volley that appeared to bounce on his side before crossing the net, but the chair umpire awarded the point to Draper, despite video replays supporting Auger-Aliassime’s claim of a mishit.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Djokovic criticized the lack of video replay use in tennis, calling it “ridiculous” that umpires can’t overturn calls based on replays.
“It’s embarrassing that we don’t have video replay of these kind of situations on the court. What’s even more ridiculous is that we don’t have the rule in place that would allow chair umpires to change the original call based on the video review that happens off the court,” Djokovic said.
“Everyone who watches TV sees what happened on the replay, yet the players on the court are kept in “dark” not knowing what’s the outcome. We have Hawkeye for line calls, we live in the technologically advanced 21st century! Please respective Tours, make sure this nonsense never happens again!” Djokovic added.
Meanwhile, Feliciano Lopez criticized the director of the Spanish news outlet Punto de Break, Jose Moron for his interpretation of the controversy.
Moron had posted a video on YouTube about the incident titled:
“ONE OF THE BIGGEST THEFTS IN THE HISTORY OF TENNIS: SHOULD THEY PUT THE VAR IN NOW?”
Lopez expressed his displeasure at the media’s portrayal of the controversy and the negative depiction of the referee.
“How some of you like to contaminate public opinion through exaggerated and unrealistic headlines. The biggest robbery in the history of tennis? The joke tells itself! R16 from @CincyTennis and MP for Draper, I don’t know if you took that into account before writing that,” Lopez said (translated from Spanish).
Yevgeny Kafelnikov criticizes Iga Swiatek over her concerns about a demanding WTA schedule
Former Russian tennis player Yevgeny Kafelnikov took issue with Iga Swiatek’s comments regarding a demanding WTA Tour schedule.
Following her victory over Mirra Andreeva in the Cincinnati Open quarterfinals, Swiatek expressed concern over the Tour’s demands to Sky Sports.
“So what can I say, I’ve been kind of an advocate, saying that well, we shouldn’t be pushing and pushing for us to play more,” Iga Swiatek said. “Obviously, it’s not our decision, but for sure, I think we have too many tournaments in the season.”
“It’s not gonna end well as it just makes tennis less fun for us,” she added. “Let’s just say, I mean, obviously, I love playing all these places but it’s pretty exhausting.”
Kafelnikov responded on X by stating that Swiatek was not compelled to compete and suggested that a reduction in her earnings is warranted.
“Is someone pushing you to play ??? All you fricking do is complain!! I’ll tell you what you deserve ! You deserve to get paid a lot less than you do now!! How about that??✌️😉,” he said.
Top seed Iga Swiatek recently got eliminated by third seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 6-3 in their Cincinnati Open semifinal.